Last of the Uchiha
by New Orion
Summary: Five years ago Sasuke Uchiha saw his entire family had been killed. Now nothing will stand in the way of him killing the man responsible. (No Naruto in Team Seven)
1. Chapter 1

The rain fell all around the young boy as he ran through the streets. He knew he was coming home late, but it wasn't late enough for all of the lights to be out. He skid to a halt as he looked down the street. His stomach lurched as he looked at the grotesque image in front of him. "Mother, Father…" The boy choked out as he swallowed his fear, and the lunch that was threatening to evacuate his stomach.

He had come down this way on his own hundreds of times. Usually he'd wave at his fellow Uchiha, but today there was no one to wave to; no one alive that is.

"Older Brother!" He screamed as tears streamed down his face and he was barely able to see the form of Itachi standing in the middle of the street. "Where are Mother and Father?"

Itachi said nothing, he only turned to look at their family house. His little brother sprinted into the building before a scream that would haunt the older brother for the rest of his life. He clenched his fists as he walked into the house once again.

"Itachi, what happened?" Sasuke screamed. He was tucked into the corner of the room with his legs pulled to his chest as tears streamed down his face. He looked up at his brother, desperate to see strength in his eyes. The only thing he saw however, was apathy. Itachi said nothing, merely drew his sword, revealing the blood dripping off the tip. "Itachi…" The boy said, the fear in his chest replaced by shock. That is until the bloodied sword was pointed at him. "Please, don't!" He said holding his head before glaring up at the brother. "You won't get away with it." He said between choked sobs.

"Foolish brother…" Itachi closed his eyes. "Hate me if you want. Hate is what gave me the power to do this, all of it. You will live the rest of your life in solitude, and you will come for me brother. You will come for me and take my life yourself. When you have these eyes, come and kill me!" He shouted before his eyes snapped open and revealed a three pronged shuriken design.

Sasuke looked into this eyes, and he felt a stabbing pain all over his body. He didn't feel it, but he could see it. The ground was getting closer to his face. He heard a smacking sound and then blackness covered him.

XXXX

The Uchiha's eyes shot open. "That dream again." He whispered to himself as he got out of bed and looked out the window. He tossed the blue comforter off of himself and put his feet on the ground.

Those dreams haunted him for five years. Five years he had spent alone, without a family to call his own. The only family he had left was the same man who killed them all. His brother Itachi. His lips pulled back in a sneer at the thought of that certain someone. Thinking about Itachi was one of the only things that let Sasuke really feel anything. Normally he walked through life numb to the world around him.

He'd watch people try and connect with him, but he was never able to. So he'd leave them be, and ignore their attempts in the future. The worst that did that were the girls in his class. He'd walk into the room, and all of their eyes would fall on him. The looks the other boys gave him because of that, told him that he should be happy with all of the attention, but he never was. Granted, Sasuke Uchiha was never happy.

The only thing he wanted, no, the only thing he needed was vengeance. He lived his life with the singular idea that he wouldn't let Itachi get away with what he had done. That was why Sasuke was the best in his class. The other kids just thought he was better than he was. That was because after school they stopped training. He however, would go home and train until the sun went down. That was the only reason none of them were able to keep up with him.

Today, all of that would pay off however. He opened his fridge and scanned its contents. He groaned before he shut the door and walked to the bathroom. He still had the Uchiha fortune that he inherited. Which made him one of, if not the single richest person in the entire village.

The cold water coming off of him in the shower forced his body to wake up from the restless night he had.

He came out of the shower and walked back to his room where he walked to the clothes he had laid out the previous evening. He put the blue shirt over his chest, and put the shorts on as well. Next he walked over to his dresser where it sat. The reward for his years of hard work. He ran his fingers over the cold steel, and felt the indents from the Leaf symbol carved into it.

Again he felt nothing. He lifted the headband and put it around his head. He looked at himself in the mirror and almost felt proud. He had his mother's face. He couldn't remember if he ever saw her wearing a head band, but he imagined that she would look like this.

He went to his front door where his shoes were delicately placed. He sat down on the landing before pulling the sandals on. He pushed the front door open and leapt over the bannister.

He landed on the ground with a grunt before he started to walk towards the Ninja Academy. It wasn't a long walk by any stretch of the imagination.

After a few minutes of silence he heard other children excitedly walking together. He saw most of them had headbands on just like him, there were a few that were younger that tagged along with them. He grit his teeth, remembering the time he went with his parents to watch Itachi be given his headband.

"Sasuke!" He heard a coo from across the street. He said nothing, just tucked his hands in his pockets and kept walking. "Hey, Sasuke over here!" Again he ignored the calls. He didn't even turn his head to look at who it was, because in reality they were all the same.

He came to the door of the classroom and walked in. Luckily it seemed like most of the girl hoarde wasn't there yet, so he could sit in peace. Unfortunately there were no desks that only had one seat left. He took the next best option however was next to a boy with dark pointy hair.

"Hey Sasuke." Tobio said acknowledging his classmate.

"Hn." Sasuke replied in his version of "politeness". After a few minutes the door slammed open and everyone turned to look at what the commotion was.

"I'm first!" Two voices shouted at one another.

After taking a few breaths Ino Yamanaka turned to look at her rival. "I win again Sakura."

"As if." Sakura heaved between breaths. "I had to look back to see you, my foot was at least a tenth of an inch ahead.

They both stopped their bickering when they looked into the class and could see the object of their affection. "Sasuke!" They both shouted before turning to glare at one another.

In a step they were both charging towards the desk the Uchiha was sitting at. Tobio grabbed the table, bracing himself for the shoving that was about to happen.

"Beat it Ino-Pig!" The pinkette shouted as she shoved her rival out of the way and sat in the middle seat of the desk. "Hey Sasuke, I'm so happy to see that you passed."

The Uchiha said nothing, just kept his hands in front of his face hiding the grinding teeth from everyone's view. "Leave him alone Sakura." Tobio moaned resting his head on the desk. "He's not interested, get over him and move on."

"You don't know what you're talking about idiot." Sakura crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air.

The door at the front of the class opened and their Sensei, Iruka Umino walked into the room with a stack of papers. "Alright everyone, settle down. I know that technically this is our last day of class together, but it is still a day of class. Ms. Yamanaka, I'm going to need you to take a seat."

"Yes Sensei." The blonde said, glaring back at Sakura who stuck her tongue out in response.

"Alright, as most of you know, genin teams are put into groups of three with a Jonin sensei acting as the fourth member, and leader." He tapped the papers in his hands. "These teams have been selected by the Hokage himself, so I don't want to hear any of you complaining about who you're paired up with." An awkward silence hung over the room, as nearly everyone worried about being placed in a team with the people they didn't like.

Sasuke ignored the thought, largely because there were only a few people he didn't want to be put in a team with. Namely the Hyuuga and the Akimichi. The Hyuuga was silent and most likely not going to be a strong fighter, and the Akimichi, well anyone who looked at him could tell you what was wrong with that. With a glance, Sasuke saw the heir shovel almost an entire bag of chips into his mouth.

Sakura perked up seeing Sasuke's head turn, but frowned when she saw him looking past her. "Alright, if everyone's ready, I'm going to announce the teams now." Iruka said glancing around the room.

He went through a number of teams until Sasuke's attention was caught. "Team 7, Sasuke Uchiha," The room waited in anticipation to see who would be paired with the natural genius of the fabled Uchiha clan. "Tobio Banpu." The two boys looked at one another before looking to the front of the class. "Sakura Haruno."

"Yes!" Sakura shouted standing to her feet, with her hands raised triumphantly in the air. "Hear that Sasuke we're going to be on the same team together."

"Hn." Was the only response the Uchiha gave.

XXXX

"Where is he?" Sakura asked pacing around the room. "Ino Pig's Sensei came and got her over an hour ago."

"Wonder what kind of ninja is this late?" Tobio asked leaning back in his chair.

Sasuke said nothing. He didn't have high expectations for his classmates. Sakura, while book smart, was absolutely useless and nearly every physical challenge. Sure, she passed, but that was by the skin of her teeth. Tobio on the other hand did just ok in everything. He wasn't at the top, or the bottom of the class, he was just in it. The Uchiha took a breath, he could tell that he was going to get stuck doing most of the work on the team, but that was fine with him. It meant more experience, and more experience made it easier for him to finally go after Itachi.

Sasuke's ears perked as he heard the footsteps coming down the hall. He assumed it was their sensei, mainly because he hadn't heard anyone else in the hall for some time.

The door cracked open, and a man with ashen white hair poked his head in. He had a grey mask pulled up to his nose, and his headband was tilted over his left eye. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Jonin. He almost looked like he was trying to look cool, but the Uchiha had to admit, it was working.

"Well…" The ninja said coming into the room, and putting his hand on his chin. "My first impression of you is, I hate you all."

Sasuke glared at their sensei as his new teammates deflated at the comment. "You just met us!" Tobio shouted. "How can you already say you hate us?"

"Calm down, calm down." The ninja said waving his hand with his one eye shut tight. It almost seemed like he was smiling. "Why don't we all meet upstairs so that we can introduce ourselves." He raised his two extended fingers up and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Sasuke silently stood up, and walked over to the door to the class. The other two were stunned at the weird behavior of the man. He switched from disdain, to cheerful in a few moments. Sasuke came up to the roof, he could hear the other two coming up behind him. Their sensei was sitting on the railing and watching their movements. His eye was narrowed, taking in every move they made.

Sasuke just sat on the step in front of the rail and waited for the other two to do the same. "Alright, now that we're all here, why don't we go around and introduce ourselves."

"Why don't you go first." Sakura's hand shot in the air. "So that we understand what you want."

"Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake." He said leaning back and looking up at the picturesque blue sky. "My likes? Well I don't really want to tell you." He rolled his neck causing it to pop. "My dislikes, you don't need to know that. And my dreams for the future," He put his hand to his chin in thought, "I never really thought about it."

"That was helpful." Tobio huffed.

"Why don't you go first, spiky." Kakashi said pointing at the boy.

"Me?" Tobio asked. He turned and saw Sakura looking at him, and Sasuke sitting with his eyes closed. "Well, my name is Tobio Banpu. I like hanging out with friends, and being with my family. I'm not a huge fan of loud people, or hot days. My dreams for the future," He said with a twinkle in his eye. "my dream for the future is to do the normal ninja life, marry a girl, retire and open a weapon's shop in the village."

Kakashi nodded his head. He was partly expecting to hear some crazy dream that seemed impossible, but a sensible goal meant the kid wasn't a total moron. "What about you?" He nodded to Sakura.

"My name is Sakura Haruno." She said proudly. "What I like…" She paused for a moment glancing nervously at Sasuke. "I mean who I like…" Tobio rolled his eyes aggressively.

"Why don't we skip to your dislikes." Kakashi said already knowing where this was going.

"What do I dislike?" Sakura asked putting her finger to her chin. Honestly, she couldn't think of all that much. Sure her and Ino butted heads all the time, but at the end of the day she enjoyed it; she'd never tell anyone, but she did enjoy it. "I can't really think of anything sensei." She said sadly.

"That's fine." Kakashi reasoned. He looked over to Sasuke, already assuming what her dream was. "And what about you?"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha." The boy said. His eyes were burning a hole in the pole directly in front of him. "I don't like much of anything, and I don't like other things. My goal however, is simple. It's not as much a goal, as it is a promise. I'm going to find a certain someone, and I'm going to kill them."

Tobio felt a bead of sweat roll down his back as he felt the truth behind Sasuke's words.

"On that note." Kakashi stood straight up. "Tomorrow we're going to begin our training. I'm gonna start you all off with a little survival training. Word of warning to you all." He said pointing a finger at them. "I wouldn't eat anything. That is, if you don't want to get sick." He gave them another eye smile before jumping away in a blur.

"Sasuke, what do you think…" Sakura turned to look at the Uchiha but already saw that he was gone.

The Uchiha walked to his home. He was going to spend the rest of his day preparing for the task at hand in the morning. He had heard countless stories about how Itachi graduated so young, and rose through the ranks. He didn't have any time to waste. He was going to prove himself, he was going to prove that he was better than everyone else, including Itachi. That was his reason for being now, and nothing would stop him.


	2. Pass or Fail

The morning sun was getting ready to rise in the East, and Sasuke was walking to where he knew the training would begin. He saw that Sakura had already arrived and was smiling at him. This wasn't unusual, one thing he could easily say about the girl, was that she was punctual. Punctuality however doesn't make you a great ninja. "Good Morning Sasuke." Sakura said patting the patch of grass beside her. "Sit with me until Kakashi Sensei arrives."

"No thanks." He said sitting in front of the tree across from her.

Sasuke squeeled to herself. This was her chance, she was on the same team as Sasuke. They would be spending all of their time together now. She could picture it now, the two of them on watch late one night. They would be sitting next to one another, the light of the campfire dancing across their bodies. She would lean in on his shoulder and glance up and finally see a smile on his face.

She snapped out of her imagination as she heard a thump beside her. Her heart soared, "Sasuke!" She shouted throwing her arms around the person beside her.

"What are you doing?" Tobio shouted, trying to remove the kunoichi from himself. "Get off of me!" He screamed.

"Gah!" Sakura eeped before punching Tobio away from herself. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Cause hitting me was totally the right thing to do." He groaned.

Sasuke looked away from his team and scanned the area around them. In the distance he could see that they were close to a lake. In the other direction he saw what looked like a massive marble monolith. His curiosity started to rise before he decided to ignore it. He shut his eyes and tried to catch up on some more sleep. Sadly none came, mainly because of the noise his other two teammates were causing as they argued with one another.

"Sensei said not to eat anything!" Sakura shouted.

"He didn't say it was a rule!" Tobio argued. "He only said we shouldn't do it if we didn't want to throw up." He added as he scarfed down more of the rice he had packed.

"Idiot." Sakura said turning her back. "I bet you wouldn't be saying that if sensei was here."

"Who cares what he thinks." Tobio said between bites. "He's clearly a weirdo."

"Hey guys." Kakashi said landing between the trio.

Tobio choked on his food before Kakashi walked over to him and started to pat him on the back. "Sensei."

"Glad we're all here." He said with an eye smile. "I was worried that some of you wouldn't show up." He added with a harder pat on Tobio's back.

Sasuke stood to his feet. This was it, his first chance to prove himself to a superior, and he wasn't going to mess it up. "You said we were going to be doing survival training. What did you have in mind?"

"Glad you asked Sasuke." Kakashi said walking to the middle of the clearing. "Today, your test is very simple." He raised two bells on red string in his hand. "Take these bells from me, and you pass."

"It's that easy?" Tobio cheered. "This ninja stuff is going to be a piece of cake."

"Whatever you say." Kakashi eye smiled.

"Wait a minute Sensei." Sakura raised her hand. "We're out of the academy, so we all passed the graduation exam. What do you mean by test?"

"I'm glad you asked." Kakashi put the bells around his waist. "See the graduation exam is just to weed out the truly worthless. This is the test I get to create to see if you all get to become actual ninja." His eye smile didn't fade, but the tone of his voice carried death with it."

"So what happens if we fail?" Sasuke asked.

"If you don't collect a bell you go back to the academy." Kakashi yawned.

"But Sensei, there are only two bells." Sakura pointed out.

"Exactly." Kakashi said sternly. "That means that best case scenario, one of you goes back to the academy. Worst case," he paused for effect, "you all go back."

"You can't do that!" Tobio screamed charging at Kakashi.

The ninja waited for the Genin to get closer before he threw him to the ground and pressed his knee downward. "I am your Jonin Sensei, whatever I say goes. That might as well be your first lesson." He snapped. He stood up from the genin and walked a bit away from the trio. "You all have until noon to take your bells." He pulled a book out of his pocket. "Go."

That was all the invitation Sasuke needed. He leapt into the trees and seemed to disappear from sight. He hid himself on a tree branch, using the leaves as camouflage.

Tobio was the first to strike, he jumped out of the ground at the Jonin. "Earth Style." Kakashi pointed out as he back peddled onto solid ground. "Is that the only trick you've got up your sleeves?" He asked turning another page of his book.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. This felt wrong. The test was designed for them to fail. Even he wasn't good enough to stand up to a Jonin. So why have them fight one?

Tobio smiled. "I'm just getting started Sensei." He said pulling a set of kunai from his bag and holding them in front of himself.

Kakashi barely glanced at the weapons before they were thrown. He raised his foot where one landed and put it back down, stepping on the grounded knife.

Sasuke's eyes widened as sizzling was heard in the clearing. "Paper bomb." The Uchiha thought to himself. It was a dirty tactic, but they were ninja after all so they had better start acting like it.

"Two bells." Tobio said to himself. "All I need is one of them!" He shouted into the clearing.

Kakashi closed his book. The kid may not be the brightest that he ever met, but he was able to figure out the test, at least partly.

Sasuke opened his eyes as he realized what Tobio was talking about. He jumped off the branch towards another part of the clearing. He made sure to be away from the fighting as he set up his traps. They wouldn't win any awards, and odds are they wouldn't work. Then again, they weren't supposed to.

Once the last one was set he looked around the area. What he needed now was simply put. He needed to get Kakashi over here so that the traps could go off, giving him the chance he needed to get that bell. He opened and closed his fist as he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do.

He looked up with determination and ran towards the fight. In retrospect however, calling it a fight would be giving Tobio far too much credit. While not the worst ninja out there, calling him 'good' was a long stretch. Kakashi merely batted away most of his attacks, and had pulled his book back out and continued to read. "This is my chance." Sasuke said to himself as he pulled out a set of shuriken.

He threw them with perfect accuracy. And at just the right moment they hit one another sending one of them soaring towards Kakashi.

"Redirection?" Kakashi's eyes opened wide as he leapt into the air as the blade flew beneath him. He didn't however notice the second shuriken heading towards him. That one hit home and sunk into his forehead causing his eyes to roll backwards.

"Sasuke, that's too far!" Tobio screamed at the Uchiha who stopped in his tracks.

In a poof of smoke the Kakashi they saw disappeared, leaving a log with the shuriken lodged inside where he had been. "Substitution." Sasuke whispered to himself as he looked around.

"I was wondering if you were going to show yourself Sasuke." Kakashi dog eared a page before putting it in his pocket. "If I have to deal with the both of you, I won't be able to read my book; shame."

"Follow my lead?" Sasuke asked taking a step forward.

"You should be the one following me." Tobio smirked at the Uchiha. He almost paused, for the first time he saw something in Sasuke's eyes besides apathy. If he didn't know better he'd say that the Uchiha was excited.

"Now!" Sasuke shouted as the two Genin charged the Sensei.

Tobio went low swing his leg to knock him off balance, but Kakashi jumped over the attack. Sasuke was right there with a mean right hook, which the Jonin caught effortlessly. "You two are relying far too much on taijutsu." Kakashi reasoned.

"Get back!" Sasuke screamed kicking away from the Jonin. And that was the only warning Tobio needed. He marveled at the speed Sasuke's hands moved before he finished in the tiger seal.

"No way."

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" Sasuke screamed before putting his hand to his mouth and a massive fireball burst forth from the depths of his throat.

"Genin can't do firestyle!" Kakashi reasoned as he jumped backwards to safety.

Tobio saw that the Jonin was now out of the attack's range and moved in himself. He reeled his fist back and threw it, and for the first time in the day Kakashi felt a solid strike to his body.

The Jonin leapt back away from the attack and skid to a halt. "Sakura!" Sasuke screamed. He hadn't told her about his plan, but she had watched him the entire time he was setting it all up and knew she understood.

His gamble paid off when he heard the snap of the rope. "A trap?" Kakashi said in total shock. He glanced at the clock and saw that it only had moments left before ringing.

Sasuke knew this was it. All his years of training and practice, this was going to be his first hurdle towards his goal, and nothing was going to stop him. He ran forward holding his hand out to the bells in front of him. His feet left the ground as he leapt through the air, getting closer and closer to the bell.

Tobio charged ahead, his head dipped low and his arms swinging as he ran. As he got closer he extended one of his arms out towards where the bell was. He didn't have some noble reason for wanting to win, at this point all he wanted was the win itself. Not what it meant to be a ninja, just that he could do it was enough for him.

Sakura got closer to the rest of her team. Her hand outstretched to the bell. After being the one to trigger the trap, she felt like she deserved the other bell. Sasuke of course would get the one she didn't and the two of them would be trained by Kakashi Sensei until Sasuke fell in love with her. And all of that depended on this one moment, this little bell held her entire future in front of her.

The three came mere inches from the bells before the clock rang and in a blur Kakashi leapt away from them. However the members of Team 7 were going too fast and their heads slammed into eachother.

"Damn it!" Tobio screamed, both from the pain, and the shame of the loss.

Sasuke grit his teeth and clenched the dirt on the ground. For once he was feeling something, unfortunately, that thing he was feeling was shame.

"Don't worry Sasuke." Sakura said putting her hand on his shoulder. "We'll just try again next year."

"Well, it looks like none of you got a bell." Kakashi said unhooking the two bells from his belt. "Tobio, you were fighting me, why did you risk losing one of the bells to Sasuke. You must know that he's better than you."

"So are you." Tobio reasoned. "There was no way that I was going to get that bell from you. The only one of us that stood a chance was Sasuke, so I needed him to get involved."

"What about you Sasuke?" Kakashi asked the seething Uchiha.

"I was too far away from the trap to trigger it. I hadn't expected Tobio to actually hit you." He said looking away. "I would've been closer to the trigger that way, and could've pulled it myself."

Kakashi nodded his head in thought before he disconnected the bells from one another. He tossed one to Tobio, and the other to Sasuke. "Does this mean we pass?" Tobio asked.

"Yes it does." Kakashi said with an eye smile. "I've given a lot of brats this test before, and none of them ever figured out the real meaning."

"It's all about teamwork." Sakura said sadly.

"Exactly." Kakashi said walking over to the stone monolith nearby. "Right here are names of heroes of the Hidden Leaf." He started to reach his hand out to touch the marble on a specific spot. Sasuke took note of the exact spot, but kept listening. "The names of my closest friends are etched onto this." He hung his head before looking up at the sky. "They're the ones who taught me this lesson, and now I've taught you. Remember it, because the life of a ninja is short and painful. Everyone you meet has scars, not all of them show on their bodies." He said putting his hand where his left eye would be.

"I understand." Tobio said with wide eyes. He had never even heard of this place, but that now that he knew… He knew he had to make a change in himself. "Thank you Sensei."

Sasuke stared at the monolith before turning his head to see Sakura walking away. "Where are you going?" Kakashi asked.

"I didn't get a bell." Sakura turned around with tears in her eyes. "So that just means I'm not ready yet." Her fists were balled. While the tears were obvious to everyone watching, she refused to acknowledge them, or even let them fall. "I'll be back next year Sensei, and then I'll show you that I have what it takes to be a ninja."

Kakashi gave the kunoichi an eye smile. "You pass too Sakura." The look of relief on the pinkette's face was instantaneous. She rubbed the tears out of her eyes. "You were the one who triggered the trap on Sasuke's cue. If it wasn't for that, none of you would've gotten as close as you did.

He held his hand out to the team with his thumb pointed to the air. "Congratulations Team 7, tomorrow we will all go out on our first mission!"

"Hell yeah!" Tobio cheered, pumping his fists into the air.

Sakura leapt forward, wrapping her arms around the Jonin's neck. "I won't let you down Sensei!"

"I'm sure you won't." He replied lowering the girl back to the ground. He glanced over and saw that Sasuke was still entranced by the monolith.

"Let's all get some food, I'm buying!" Tobio cheered to the group.

"I'm in!" Sakura shouted. "What about you Sasuke?"

The Uchiha shook his head. "Yeah, sounds good."

None of them knew how to react. Sakura invited him almost out of instinct, she didn't expect him to actually accept the invitation. "In that case, I'm paying." Kakashi said with another eye smile. "Don't get used to it though."

The three of them walked towards the exit of the training ground, but Sasuke hung back for a few extra seconds. He traced exactly where Kakashi was reaching and he came to one name. "Obito Uchiha."


	3. Another Reason

Sasuke shot out of his bed with sweat beading down his chest. Another nightmare, that night again. He put his hand to his eye as the image of his brother's eyes were burned into his mind.

He shook his head as he looked over at his clock. He still had a few minutes until it went off so he rested his head back against his pillow.

Ignoring the dream he thought about the past couple days of missions. Most of them were boring jobs, and some were dumb enough to include chasing a lost cat, the exact same cat, three times.

The beeping interrupted his thoughts as he reached his hand over and smacked the off button. He got out of the bed with a bored yawn as he went to the bathroom.

His opinions on his teammates had only slightly changed. Sakura was still not going to be much help in a life or death situation, but Tobio seemed to be able to attempt to keep up with him. Kakashi was clearly an experienced ninja and was deserving of his rank.

He hurried through his morning routine, because the Jonin wanted to meet with them early to get their mission over with early in the day. In Kakashi terms however, that just meant to be there at the regular time.

He leapt out the window and onto the building across the street. Kakashi had run on the rooftops one day during a mission, and Sasuke wanted to try it for himself. He squatted down to stretch his legs before standing up and rolling his neck. He bounced on his heels twice and started to run.

When he came to the first ledge he jumped and landed squarely on the next building. He looked around himself to get his bearings. He turned and ran in a different directions towards the next building.

As he ran he could glance over and see other ninja doing the exact same thing as him. All of them running in different directions, and some were running incredibly fast. So fast he was certain that most people would assume their eyes were playing tricks on them.

"Here." He said dropping down between the buildings and landing with a skid that he had to roll into.

"You'll figure it out." Kakashi said revealing himself on the side of a building.

"What are you doing there?" Sasuke asked dusting himself off.

"I was just on my way to the meeting spot." Kakashi raised a barely visible eyebrow. "I thought I told you to be there early."

"Yeah." Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. "Then why weren't you there on time?"

"Me?" Kakashi put his hand on his chest as he walked onto the ground. "Well I simply got lost on the path of life."

"Hn." Was the only response Sasuke gave as he continued to walk towards the usual meeting spot.

"I think that might be the most you've ever talked to me." Kakashi had his book out and read as the two of them talked.

"Should I talk more?" Sasuke closed his eyes, having already memorized the area around them.

"Not necessarily." Kakashi turned a page. "The others just seem to talk so much, your silence comes across as odd."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sasuke said as the duo came to the gate of the Hokage mansion.

"You're both late?" Tobio shouted at the last two members of his team.

"Don't yell at Sasuke!" Sakura screamed at the spiky haired boy.

"Don't yell at me!" He responded getting in the pinkette's face. The two of them inches away from the others face and glaring daggers at one another.

"Well, why don't we just go upstairs and see what mission Lord Hokage has for us." Kakashi eye smiled at the two as he walked between them into the building.

Sasuke silently walked behind the sensei with his hands in his pockets. The winding staircase led them to the office of the Hokage, the strongest man in the village, and the leader. Of course he didn't do the job alone, but his word was law in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. "Ah Kakashi." The old man said taking a hit from his pipe. He was flanked by assistants that were aiding him in assigning missions.

"Lord Hokage." Kakashi said with a wave earning a sigh from Sakura who bowed to the man. "Team 7 reporting for duty, did you have a mission for us today?"

"I do." The old man said reaching his hand towards a set of scrolls. He was about to grab one but a smile crossed his face before he took the other one. The Uchiha, and the Hatake both noticed the motion. "I have a simple assignment here for you team." The man said unrolling the D rank scroll. "There is a farmer just outside the village that has been having an issue with crows."

"Crows?" Kakashi asked in a dead pan.

"Tsk." Sasuke grunted. "We're better than crows."

"Sasuke!" Iruka shouted at the boy. "You have to address him has Lord Hokage!"

The Uchiha didn't even look at his former sensei, instead he looked up at the bored Kakashi. "Kakashi, do you share this sentiment with your student?" The Hokage narrowed his eyes, daring the Jonin to agree with the Genin.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, he turned his head slightly to see what his other students were doing. Unfortunately they were both looking up at him with expectant eyes. Everyone was expecting an answer out of him. "D ranks are getting a little boring."

Sasuke smirked as the Hokage put the scroll back and picked up the original. The smile on the old man's face showed that this was all a part of his plan, and that Team 7 may regret the choice they had made. "I have a simple C rank then." The man said unfurling the scroll. "A man from the Land of Waves has contracted Leaf ninjas to protect him on his journey home, and then until he completes construction of his bridge."

Kakashi could see the looks of irritation on his student's faces. "I suppose that's a bit better." He said putting his hand on Sasuke's head before it was swatted away. "My little Genin and I will make sure that bridge gets built."

"I expect nothing less." The Hokage said handing the scroll off. "The Bridge Builder should be waiting for his ninja team by now. Don't keep him waiting." His smile shone brightly, he was watching another generation of ninja take their first steps after all. And he had to admit he had a soft spot for the young Uchiha. The boy was named after his own father after all.

"Lord Hokage." Iruka said getting the man's attention as Team 7 left the room. "Forgive me, but they're still rookie Genin, are they truly ready for a C rank?"

"We won't know until they return." The Hokage took another hit from his pipe. "Send in this next team."

XXXX

"Pack light, but pack for a long haul." Kakashi said as the team made it to the bottom of the steps. "We all need to be at the village gate as soon as possible."

"You got it!" Tobio shouted. "I wonder what kind of fights we're going to get into while we're out there!"

"Don't be stupid." Sakura sighed. "It's only a C rank, we shouldn't be bumping into any enemy ninja. And besides, we have Sasuke with us." She stuck her nose up into the air. "Right Sasuke?" She asked looking for her crush who was missing. "Sensei, where did…" She paused as she noticed that he too, was gone.

Tobio slowly backed away from the Kunoichi who was caught between anger, and embarrassment, and he didn't want to get caught up in her wrath.

XXXX

Sasuke stuffed his pack with all of the supplies he had planned on bringing with him to the Land of Waves. He reached over and put a sealing scroll into the bag. He had never had a chance to use that, and an actual mission might be the perfect place for him to do it.

He jumped out of his window and landed on the ground kicking up dirt in the air around him. "Show off." Tobio groaned.

"What are you doing here?" The Uchiha asked.

"Sensei wanted me to make sure you were on time. He said something about you getting lost on the path of life, or something like that."

Sasuke said nothing as he walked past his teammate to the village gate. "Thanks for checking on me Tobio." The pineapple spiked Genin said to himself. "Oh you're very welcome Sasuke." He continued. "And might I say that's an awesome shirt you've got there." He touched his shirt. "You really think so?"

"Knock it off." Sasuke said without turning around to look.

"Did I finally get a reaction out of the mysterious Sasuke Uchiha?"

Sasuke said nothing as he continued walking to the gate. Soon he came into range, he could see an annoyed look on Sakura's face as she stood next to a man he was assuming was the client. As he got closer he realized exactly the reason for the look of disgust on her face. The stench was almost unbearable, Sasuke decided to say nothing about it, but Tobio… "What is that?" He shouted putting his hand over his nose. "It smells like a cat died inside of a liquor store."

"Be nice." Kakashi appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "You must be Tazuna." He said giving the old man an eye smile.

"That's me." He glanced at the Genin. "They're sending a group of children? Lot of good hiring Ninja does me, they don't even send the real thing."

"See this?" Tobio shouted pointing his thumb at his head band. "That means that I'm a real ninja. I may not have the rank of journeymen ninja, but I'm still a ninja."

"Calm down." Kakashi pat the spiky haired genin on the head. "I'm sure Mr. Tazuna meant no offence."

"Sensei, shouldn't we get moving?" Sakura cocked her head to the side as she shuffled closer to Sasuke.

"About time." Tazuna said taking a swing of his drink.

Sasuke tried to ignore the man, but the smell was making that damn near impossible.

After a few hours of walking Kakashi's head paused on a puddle but the group continued walking as if nothing had happened. Sakura's head was swaying from side to side, she had a content smile on her face, mainly because she was standing next to Sasuke.

The Uchiha however kept his usual calm and collected face. He turned his head as he heard clanking chains. He turned his head just fast enough to see Kakashi wrapped in razor wire, with two ninjas standing on either side of him holding the ends. With a yank Sasuke saw Kakashi ripped to shreds.

"Sensei!" Tobio screamed drawing his kunai.

The two enemy ninja turned their attention towards Tazuna and ran at the man with their clawed arms extended. They stopped for a moment as a shadow covered their faces, and without further warning they had been launched in the other direction.

Sasuke landed on the ground and glared at the men in front of him. He could tell that they weren't as skilled as Kakashi, but they were still able to get the jump on him, so he shouldn't underestimate them.

"I'll kill them!" Tobio screamed running towards the men with his kunai drawn.

"Idiot." Sasuke said under his breath.

The two ninjas ran around Tobio with their chains that started to tighten on him. "Tobio!" Sakura screamed in shock.

Sasuke felt his chest tighten, he was about to see it happen. In another moment not only would his sensei be dead, but so would one of his teammates. Just before they yanked their arms back to end the life of the Genin a loud snapped was heard.

Sakura uncovered her eyes and saw Kakashi had the both of them in a headlock. "Sensei!" She cheered for the man who jerked his arms causing another snap.

"Tobio, are you alright?" Kakashi asked looking at the Genin.

"I'm, I'm fine." He stuttered. "How did you…"

"I used a substitution." Kakashi dropped the men in a heap and pulled rope out of his bag. He wasted no time tying them all together. His head snapped and glared at Tazuna. "Care to explain why a pair of Chunin were trying to kill you?"

"What are you talking about?" The drunk shouted back. "They were attacking you because you were from a different village. That's all you ninja do anyway right?"

"Not quite." Kakashi narrowed his single eye at the man. "They wanted to kill you, and you're going to tell me why."

Tazuna crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "I'm sure you've heard of the Shipping Magnet Gato."

"Of Gato Enterprises?" Tobio looked at the drunk.

"That's the one." Tazuna opened his eyes. "He's taken over the Land of Waves. With his goons patrolling the waters trade is impossible unless he's involved. And his prices are choking the people, now most people barely have enough money to pay for their food."

"And you wanted to get back safely?" Tobio asked.

"Partly, yes. The other part of my plan was to complete work on a bridge to the mainland." He scratched his neck.

"Making his control of the water pointless." Sakura reasoned.

"So you hired us to protect you, when there's a rich businessman that wants you dead?" Kakashi asked, his eyes narrowing as he continued to glare at the man.

"I did mention that money was tight." Tazuna reached for his bottle but decided against it. "I couldn't afford anything past this." He gestured to the Genin in the group.

"We're going back." Kakashi said to his students.

"If you do that I'll die." Tazuna snapped. "Along with the people in my village. They'll all be considered problems for helping me. The government won't be able to stop Gato from killing us all. Including my daughter and grandson. They'll be alone without me." Sasuke's ears perked at that. "There will be no one to stop Gato. He'll get away with all of it, and all because you all turned around."

Kakashi turned on his heel "That doesn't…"

"We have to help." Sasuke said shocking everyone around them.

"But Sasuke, we're just Genin. Even you aren't good enough to stop something like that." Sakura reasoned.

"So what?" The Uchiha snapped at the pinkette causing her to back off. "We can't just turn back when we know people will die. Sensei!" He looked to Kakashi. "We have to go."

Kakashi looked closely at his student. He had assumed from everything that happened that Sasuke was just like he was when he was younger. Hurt, and broken. His only reason to keep fighting was for vengeance, but he was wrong. Sasuke was desperately searching for a reason to fight. Itachi was just the reason that made the most sense, but if he had another reason, then maybe he could let his hatred go.

He glanced at his other two students. It was clear that Sakura was nervous, and didn't want to upset Sasuke. Her fear won out however, and she wanted to turn back. The only student that hadn't said anything, surprisingly was Tobio.

The spiky haired genin was stunned by what his teammate had said. He was ready to turn back too, but seeing passion like that made him feel something in his chest. His hand rubbed against the fabric of his shirt. He looked down at the dirt covering his feet. He usually tried to avoid walking through areas that were covered in dirt to avoid that very thing. Now though, he was a ninja, he would have to walk through much worse than dirt. "He's right."

Kakashi's eyes widened as he looked to Tazuna. The man seemed torn between desperation and hope. And it was all up to the Copy Ninja on if this man should live or die. The entire village being killed was a stretch, but if Tazuna's story was true, he would certainly die.

Kakashi took a breath and put his hand over his left eye, his borrowed eye. He knew what 'he' would do in this situation. He'd probably yell something about how they took the mission and shouldn't rest until it was complete. Then they'd all be heroes. But heroes die young, Kakashi knew that better than most. "Fine." He shook his head. "We'll get you home. And then we'll make sure you get that bridge built."

Sasuke smirked to himself as Tazuna clapped his hands. "Perfect! We should keep moving then, our boatman should be waiting for us."

Kakashi took a breath and noticed Sakura walking beside him. "You know he played us, right Sensei?"

"I'm well aware." The Jonin said with a breath.


	4. Kakashi of the Sharingan

Sasuke's eyes scanned the area ahead of them vigilantly. He refused to be caught unaware like he had with the demon brothers. When the next attack came, he wanted to know it was coming. As he scanned he noticed that the green eyes of Sakura were still staring at him. At this point he was almost used to her constant gaze. He knew that most girls in their class had crushes on him, but he didn't understand why. Especially when he kept them so far away from himself that none of them really knew him. Including the pinkette who watched his every step.

"Let it go." Tobio whispered to the girl.

"Idiot, you don't know what you're talking about." Sakura stuck her nose in the air.

"That you're just like all of the others." He stuck his hands in his pockets with a smirk. "All of you always talk about how you love Sasuke, but you don't know anything about him, hell none of us do."

Sakura was about to snap back when she started to realize that Tobio was right. All she really knew about Sasuke was that he is the last of his clan, and there was a rumor he likes girls with long hair. Other than that, she really didn't know much. They had been classmates for years, and then teammates for months now. She looked back at him again, and this time it wasn't the same wide eyes she usually watched him with. Now curiosity shown behind them, revealing a lingering question in her mind. 'who is Sasuke Uchiha'?

Sasuke froze for a moment causing Kakashi to reach for his weapons pouch. Sasuke relaxed as a white bunny hopped into the middle of their path. "Look at that." Tobio said slowly walking up to the bunny. He reached down and picked it up and rubbed its stomach.

Kakashi knew something was wrong. "A wild rabbit would never let you pick it up."

"Sensei?" Sakura questioned the man before his eyes widened.

"Get down!" He screamed throwing Sakura and Tazuna to the ground.

Sasuke dove to the ground as a massive sword flew over his head and planted itself into the side of a tree. Tobio huddled under the blade with the rabbit still in his arms. He slowly opened his eye, but then he heard someone land on the sword. He quickly backed off, "Shit!" He looked at the incredibly tall man with bandages wrapped around his face.

"Tobio get back." Kakashi said standing up and looking up at the man. "I know who you are."

"And I know who you are, Kakashi the Copy Ninja." The ninja turned and glared at everyone in front of him.

"Zabuza Momochi." Kakashi's fingers twitched, ready to move at the drop of a hat.

"They've got you babysitting now Kakashi?" Zabuza said stepping off of the sword and removing it from the tree. "The Ninja that copied over a thousand jutsu."

"Everyone get behind me." Kakashi said holding his arm out. "I'll handle this."

"The Mist has standing orders to kill you on sight." Zabuza said with his head tilted to the side.

"Don't worry, you made it to our Bingo Book too." Kakashi said lifting his headband off of his left eye.

"You're going to show it to me?" Zabuza asked. "I'm flattered." He held his sword in front of himself, ready for whatever attack Kakashi had planned for him. "Kakashi of the Sharingan."

Sasuke's eyes widened in stunned shock as Kakashi opened his left eye and revealed his red eye with the three tomoe. "It can't be." He whispered to himself. After all this time, someone else with the Sharingan was in the village. And he knew, the only people who had the Sharingan had to be Uchiha.

"What's a…" Tobio began before Kakashi charged forward with a kunai at the ready. He dove over Zabuza's sword ready to slice through the man's throat. He was not expecting the swordsman to bring the sword back in front of himself so fast.

"The Sharingan." Sasuke said to himself as the two Jonin fought one another.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"It's the Kekkei Genkai of my family." Sasuke's fists were balled in rage. "Only the Uchiha are supposed to have those eyes." His chest was on fire, this was new to him but he stopped when he felt an arm on his shoulder.

"Talk to sensei later." Sakura said. Her voice was strong and even. Gone was the little fan girl. In front of Sasuke was a kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf. "Right now we have to stay back and let sensei handle this."

Kakashi leapt back towards the genin as he and Zabuza stared at one another. "What are we gonna do Sensei?" Tobio screamed while clutching the rabbit to his chest. "What if he kills…"

"Tobio!" Kakashi got the boy's attention. "I will not let my comrades die!" He glanced back at his three students. Each of them now had a different look on their faces. Sakura was confident in what he was saying. Right now she would believe him if he said the sky was purple. Tobio seemed to relax slightly at the reassurance, but Sasuke, Sasuke's face was different.

"I will not let my comrades die!" The words rang throughout Sasuke's mind. It wasn't that Kakashi said them, it was that he said them and meant every word of it. Sasuke was looking at a man that was a trained killing machine, and he wouldn't let something die. Itachi was a killing machine just like Kakashi, only he killed nearly everyone he cared about.

That fire was burning in Sasuke's eyes again, and Kakashi couldn't explain it, but that look made him feel proud. He turned back to look at Zabuza, if it wasn't for the mask he would be able to see the grin on the ninja's face. "I've got a specialty Kakashi." Zabuza's voice burned through the air as he raised one of his hands up and held the other in front of his face. "Hidden Mist Jutsu!" He shouted.

All around Team 7 the air grew thick with moisture. "Poison?" Tobio asked.

"No." Kakashi said, his eyes scanning the area around them. He had already lost sight of Zabuza, so now he just had to protect the client, and the genin. "It's just a thick fog."

"Just a thick fog?" Zabuza's voice came from every direction. "This is the jutsu that allows me to kill anyone in my way. So what's it going to be, heart, lungs, throat; any one of these can be used to kill you."

Tobio clutched the rabbit to his chest as he looked around. He couldn't see Zabuza, so he checked behind himself to make sure that Tazuna was still safe. "Sensei!" He screamed.

"What is it?" Kakashi turned on his heel to see Zabuza standing between the entire group.

"You let your guard down Kakashi." Zabuza said before swinging his enormous sword at the group.

Kakashi jumped in front of the blade swing and blocked with two kunai. "I won't let you touch them." He snarled as his red Sharingan glared at Zabuza. Kakashi knew in that moment he had the rogue ninja right where he wanted him. "Get back!" Kakashi shouted before he was pushed away by Zabuza and kicked in the head.

Sakura pulled Tazuna away while Sasuke and Tobio stood in front of them to protect the bridge builder. "C'mon, kick his ass." Tobio whispered as he watched the two jonin fight one another.

The two ninjas ran parallel to one another as they ran towards the water. Zabuza grinned under his mask. Fighting on the water was the worst decision Kakashi could make in this situation. He was a Mist Ninja after all.

They stopped at the exact same time and held their hands up. Their fingers moved in a blur and around them dragons made of water came to life. "No way." Sasuke said to himself. He had read something about a fire version of that jutsu the Uchiha had, but a water one was insane.

To make it crazier, there was no delay between either of them performing the jutsu. It was at the exact same moment. The dragons slammed into one another in a wave of water and mist. Sasuke could see that they were saying something to one another, but he couldn't hear what it was.

Their hands blurred to life once again as the held the same hand sign. Sasuke could see the hesitation on Zabuza's face, and it was that exact moment Kakashi formed the final hand sign. The water around the swordsman started to spin on itself. It dragged him under and flooded the area around the lake. "Get back!" Sasuke shouted to the group causing them to put more distance between themselves and the expert ninjas.

Zabuza slammed into a tree and looked up at Kakashi who was already standing in the branches. "Can, can you see the future?"

"Yes." Kakashi lied, "And this is your last battle." He said as he brandished a kunai. Before he could strike however, three senbon landed inside of Zabuza's neck. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body crumpled to the ground.

"What?" Kakashi looked to where the senbon had come from and saw a masked ninja standing on a tree. He recognized the style of mask, "A tracker ninja." He said standing up straight.

"I must thank you." The ninja said dropping from the tree. "I have been tracking him for months now."

"Why is he being tracked?" Tobio asked.

"Attempted assassination." The Tracker said walking over to the body.

"Who?"

"The Mizukage." The tracker turned to look at Kakashi. "I have to take him now. Again, I thank you Leaf Ninja."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he covered his left. The Tracker bent down and in a gust of wind he along with Zabuza's corpse was gone. The Jonin turned to look at the others. "Is everyone alright?"

"No injuries." Sasuke said as he took a breath. "Sensei, why do…" He stopped as Kakashi collapsed on the ground in front of him.


	5. Those Who Break The Rules

Kakashi groaned from the exhaustion. "Good you're finally up." Came an unfamiliar voice. "The children have been worried sick about you. It even took all I had to get that quiet one out of here so that you could rest."

"Even Sasuke was worried about me?" Kakashi said mostly to himself. His hand touched his scarred eye as a sad look came over his other one.

"He said something about needing to talk to you immediately." The woman replied.

"I'm sorry, how long was I out?" He looked up at the woman, making sure to keep his left eye shut.

"A little over a day." The woman crossed her arms. "They're waiting for you downstairs." She turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

Kakashi chuckled silently. He always did have a way with women. He forced his limbs to move, he could still tell that he was low on chakra. At least he was able to get up. He stumbled onto a dresser, maybe not.

He looked over to the corner and saw a pair of crutches. "They knew I would need these." He said reaching for the pieces of wood. He could tell they had seen many uses.

He tucked each one under his arm and pulled his headband over his left eye before walking out of the room and towards the stairs. He walked past a room with a shut door, and if he wasn't injured he would've sworn he heard crying coming from the other side.

He slowly came down the stairs and looked at a shell shocked table of people. Sakura was beginning to smile that their sensei was still alive. Tobio collected himself and held his hands in the air. Sasuke however only glanced towards his sensei before returning to his food. He was sitting beside Tobio and the other ninja did not notice. "Sensei, should you be up so soon?" Sakura asked.

"Thank you for worrying, but I think I'm fine enough to feed myself." Kakashi said in a light tone as he slowly sat down beside the pinkette. "Tazuna." He said greeting the old man.

"Glad to see you on your feet Ninja." The man said picking at the little bit of food on his plate.

"Thank…" They all heard the door outside slam shut and turned their heads to see that Sasuke had left the table.

Sasuke stormed away from the house. How could Kakashi have a Sharingan? It made no sense. Not only did he have one, he had only one. And he kept that eye covered most of the time. Sasuke had assumed that the ninja had lost it in a fight and there was nothing under the headband.

He slammed his hand into the tree beside him causing the leaves to rustle above him. Leaves fell all around him. Some of them simply fell hard onto the ground, while some danced through the air around the Uchiha.

He reached out and held one of the leaves in his hand. He looked closely and could see the slight hint of dew still waiting to disappear into the air around them. He heard a quiet sob so he turned to look towards the window of the house. He could see a little boy looking out towards the water. His eyes were soaked from all the crying, and his cheeks were red and puffy.

Sasuke decided it would be best to leave the kid on his own. It was clear he wanted to be alone, and the Uchiha had just stumbled onto a personal moment.

He turned away and started walking the other direction when he heard the sound of crutches on the cobblestone. "Sasuke…"

"How?" The Uchiha asked as he put his hands in his pockets. "I mean, clearly you aren't Uchiha."

"You're right." Sasuke said hobbling over to where Sasuke was standing. They had a great view of the sunset in front of him. "I'm not Uchiha, I'm sorry if you thought I might've been."

"Then how?"

Kakashi took a breath. This was something he absolutely hated talking about. Gai was the only person he could tolerate bringing it up, but god bless him the Taijutsu master avoided the topic. "I was a lot like you at one time." He watched how the water rippled with the bright orange hanging over the water. "I wasn't close with many people. In fact I tended to push them away."

"Don't act like you know me." Sasuke groaned. "You have no idea what it felt like. How would you have felt if someone killed everyone you cared about."

Kakashi looked closely at the rippling waves rushing the shore below them. "It's a little late for that," Sasuke turned to look at Kakashi. "they're all dead." That was not what the Uchiha had expected to hear. "The biggest mistake you can make Sasuke is assuming your struggle is greater than someone else's. We lost our parents when we were young. Others never had parents to lose, sometimes entire families are wiped away."

Kakashi felt his chest tighten with the memories of that night. He shook his head. "My eye was a gift, given to me by my best friend."

Sasuke seemed to relax as he looked out towards the water. The sun had nearly set, and the last bits of light were streaming themselves over the landscape, and once the sun had finally hidden itself Sasuke spoke. "You mean Obito Uchiha, don't you?"

"I do." Kakashi almost whispered. "We were on a mission, and that is where he taught me the most important lesson I'd ever learn."

"He taught you?" Sasuke asked.

"He did." Kakashi nodded his head as he reached his hand up to where his left eye was. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

Sasuke felt a tightness in his chest that he didn't fully understand. Those words actually made him feel something, but he didn't fully understand what it was.

"A few months after that…" He froze for a moment. He couldn't remember telling anyone about this since Minato Sensei. "Something else happened and I lost my other teammate."

Sasuke said nothing, like usual he just listened to the person talking to him. "Then October 10th."

"The Nine Tails?" Sasuke asked.

"Exactly." Kakashi nodded his head. "That night I lost the last of my family. My Sensei was the Fourth Hokage."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Being trained by a Hokage was a great honor. The only people he knew of who held that title either became a Hokage themselves or was one of the Legendary Sanin. "Not many people know this, but the Fourth had a wife." Sasuke looked intently at the Jonin beside him. He wasn't used to people being this open with him, and he didn't fully understand why Kakashi was telling him all of this. "She was pregnant when the attack happened." Kakashi looked up to where the stars were starting to show themselves in the night sky. "The baby would've been around your age." A smile crossed his masked lips. "I probably would've ended up training the little brat." He took a breath. "So there you go, I understand where you're coming from Sasuke. I also know what it means to withdraw yourself from everything, you make think you're safe all on your own; but remember that you need people." He turned and started to hobble away.

"Sensei." Kakashi turned his head to look at the Uchiha. "What happened to the people who killed them?"

Kakashi expected a question like that from Sasuke. "I killed Obito's killer. And it was the Nine Tails that killed the Fourth."

"What about your other teammate?"

Kakashi looked away from Sasuke and back at the house. "He's still alive." And he kept walking in silence.


	6. Precious People

"Whoa." Tobio looked up at Sakura who had already climbed high into the tree and was sitting on one of the branches. "That is so cool."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at the boys before Kakashi chuckled. "It looks like the girl of the group is outpacing everyone. Maybe there's a future Hokage among us."

"You talk too much sensei!" Sakura shouted down at the man. She looked at the scowling face of Sasuke, normally he looked angry, but the fire in his eyes was different. She mistook his determination for dislike aimed towards her.

"I'm going to do this." The Uchiha looked up at the towering tree.

"Well, if you're going to do it, then so am I." Tobio said putting his arm around Sasuke who glared at the boy. "No touching, got it." He pulled his arm away and looked back up at the trees. "Let's get started." He said before taking off towards the tree. As his foot landed on the bark he felt himself propel the other way. He skid to a halt and fell backwards onto his butt.

Sasuke ignored his fumbling teammate and instead looked closely at the bark. It had been broken by the force of the chakra Tobio had used. "So that's how it works." He said before he himself ran at full speed towards the tree. His foot hit the bark and he pulled his other leg up, but before it landed on the tree he fell back to the ground scraping his knee. "Damn it." He said landing on his foot and looking down at his now bloodied knee.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted jumping down from the tree.

"Sakura be careful!" Kakashi scolded.

She landed with a roll and ran over to the Uchiha. "But Sasuke is hurt Sensei."

"It's just a scratch I'm fine." He said starting to push her away.

"Let me at least make sure it's ok." She replied quickly.

Sasuke was about to continue protesting when he remembered his Sensei's words about needing people. "Fine, just make it quick." He said sitting on the ground and looking away from the pinkette.

Sakura knelt beside her teammate while Tobio continued attempting the tree walking exercise. "You have to focus on your chakra."

"That's what I'm doing!" Sasuke snapped.

Sakura eeped back but looked closely at Sasuke's knee. He hadn't pulled it away, and it was still full of splinters that could cause an infection later on. "What I mean is, you're focusing on the top of the tree. I could tell by looking at your eyes, you need to focus on the part of the tree your foot is on. If you get too excited thinking about how to get all the way up, you'll just lose focus and fall."

Sasuke understood what she was saying, and he hated to admit that she was right. He knew she tended to score better than he did on the written work, while he outscored everyone on the practical tests. "Fine." He said pulling his cleaned knee back and standing up.

Sasuke deflated at the lack of respect from the Uchiha. Rather than saying anything though she walked over to another tree and watched her other teammate try. The tree he was using was all busted up from his attempts. They were lucky they weren't being given this training in the Village on buildings.

Tobio fell back to the ground and looked back up at the tree. "This isn't going to stop me!" He shouted to himself as he ran back at the tree. It was clear that he was getting exhausted from how much chakra he was putting into his feet. But the look in his eyes showed that there was something else driving him.

"Tobio, you need to calm down." Kakashi scolded as the genin fell back to earth again. "You'll never get the hand of it if you're overworking yourself. Sit down for a minute, and take a break."

"I can't." He said between breaths. "If I sit down, I won't wanna try again."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. "All he's saying is sit down and rest for a minute."

"No!" He screamed back at the girl. "I won't be like him."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the outburst before the genin tried again.

Sasuke sliced at the tree bark and gracefully fell back to the ground. He looked over and saw that Tobio had gotten nearly as far on his own. He grit his teeth and watched as the spiky haired genin ran back up the tree.

Sasuke shook his head, this wasn't the time to get angry at Tobio for doing well. It was the time to keep moving, and give it everything he had. His legs moved again and he jumped onto the tree. He felt himself start to stick as he controlled the chakra at the soles of his feet. It was a weird feeling, almost like he was pulling himself onto the tree, only there was nothing that was pulling him onto it.

The moment he felt his feet slip he slashed at the bark and saw that the mark was higher this time. He pushed off of the tree and back flipped in the air and landed on the ground in a crouch. He smirked as he enjoyed his own progress. That smile faded however when he looked over and saw that Tobio had actually made it higher.

"You can do it Sasuke!" Sakura shouted.

"Not now Sakura." Kakashi said looking closely at the Uchiha. He knew that this lesson was important for the Uchiha. He figured the other two would be better at this than he was. Sakura had very little chakra, while Tobio once again was completely average. Sasuke had an above average amount, most likely because of his heritage. This lesson was always difficult for genin with exceptional chakra. He still could hear Kushina cursing about how much she hated the whole ordeal.

Sasuke wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked up at the top of the tree and he could see the light dancing between the leaves. Almost mocking him with how easily they swayed and moved. He looked closely at the bark and could still see the small dents he was leaving. He walked slowly to the tree, he took a breath and placed on foot onto the bark. With another breath he put his other foot higher on the tree. He felt the weird sensation of gravity trying to pull him back to the ground, but he didn't focus on it. Instead he just felt the push and pull of his own chakra on his feet.

After a few steps he looked and could see that his feet were now planted perfectly, and he was standing on his highest reached place. He turned his head and looked back at his teammates. Sakura was clasping her hands and smiling at her teammate, Kakashi nodded at his student. However Tobio looked at Sasuke in awe. He didn't hate the Uchiha for doing something he couldn't, the opposite in fact, he actually admired him for doing it.

With a breath he did the same, and with a few steps walked up to the same height as Sasuke. He turned his head and looked at his fellow genin and nodded at him. The two took one step after another, matching eachother in pace. For the first time in his life, Sasuke felt like there was someone else like him. Between Kakashi sharing a similar past, and Tobio refusing to give up. He actually felt, well good was the only word he felt safe using to describe it.

XXXX

Team 7 was sitting at the breakfast table once again. Sasuke was eating his food quickly, and Tobio not wanting to be outdone was shoveling the food as quickly as he could. Sakura looked between the two boys and for the first time she realized Sasuke was an idiot boy like the rest of them. "If you eat too fast, you'll get sick."

"Sakura is right." Kakashi breathed as he put his empty bowl on the table.

Tobio grimaced, he had been too busy eating to catch a glimpse under Kakashi's mask. "How long do you think the bridge will take?" He asked Tazuna.

"Hopefully it won't be long." The Bridge Builder crossed his arms.

"You're losing men every day." Sakura deflated. "They're scared."

"They're cowards!" Tazuna snapped.

"Maybe they're the smart ones." Tazuna's Grandson Inari shouted. "They're just getting out while they still can."

"Inari." His mother chided. "That's no way to talk."

"It's true though." He growled. "Gato and his men will come soon. Grandpa you have to stop."

"Boy, how many times have we had this conversation?" Tazuna asked.

"You're being stupid!" The boy screamed.

"No, he's not." Tobio said as his chop sticks snapped in his fist. All eyes turned to him. "Not giving up isn't foolish. It just means you care about something, and that's what a real man does."

"What do you know?" Inari screamed.

"Tobio." Kakashi warned.

"Inari that's enough!" Tsunami scolded.

"No!" Both boys shouted as they glared at one another.

Tsunami reached for her son's shoulder but he pulled away and ran towards the stairs. "You're all going to die, and it will all be for nothing!" He stormed up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door.

"What's his problem?" Tobio said turning in his seat back towards his food.

"Inari is, well he's a troubled boy." Tsunami explained.

Tazuna looked down at the table sadly. "When Gato first came to the Land of Waves, Kaiza, my son in law was, made an example of." He said struggling to get the right words out. "He didn't like that Gato was strangling our economy, so he tried to do something about it. He's the one who taught Inari what it means to be a man, and to fight for what you believe in, and for those you care about. And when he died, there was nothing left for Inari. Gato, and his thugs murdered Kaiza right in front of Inari. That is why I'm building this bridge, if no one can stand up to Gato, I can atleast try and stop him."

Sasuke looked at the food in front of him, and suddenly wasn't feeling all that hungry anymore. "I'm going out." He said leaving his food unfinished and walking to the door.

"I'll stay up for you." Sakura almost shouted.

"Don't." Was all Sasuke said as the door closed behind him.

"Sensei, is he alright?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi looked at the door closely. "He'll be fine." He closed his eyes. "He just has some things to work through right now Sakura."

XXXX

Sasuke opened his eyes and he could see that the sun had risen in the distance. He looked over and saw a girl looking at him closely. On closer inspection he could see the masculine features that told him it was a boy. "What are you doing?" He asked reaching for his weapons pouch.

"You were sleeping out here." The boy's gentle voice caused Sasuke to question himself. "If you aren't careful you'll get sick." He looked up at the tree then at Sasuke's headband. "You're a ninja aren't you?"

"I am." Sasuke said standing to his feet and looking closely at the boy. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing." The boy shook his head. "Why do you want to be a ninja?"

"That's none of your business." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"I can see it." He said standing up and standing a few inches over the Uchiha. "That look in your eyes."

"What look?" Sasuke asked as his head felt through his pouch. His fingers slowly wrapped around the handle of a kunai.

"You want to kill somebody."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he drew the weapon. The boy didn't even flinch at the show causing Sasuke to doubt this boy's innocence further. "What are you talking about?"

"I've known many people like you." The boy smiled. "It's something that isn't that uncommon, most people would rather somebody be dead. I prefer to devote my life to protecting myself."

"Protecting?" Sasuke asked.

The boy smiled. "I protect my special person."

"Special person?"

"Yes." The boy smiled as he bent down to pick up his basket. "That's what makes me happy. The people who always talk about killing somebody, they're never happy. So I spend my time protecting people instead." The boy turned and started to walk the other way. "I hope you find happiness."


	7. Your Final Move

Sasuke opened the door of Tazuna's house and saw everyone was again, sitting at the table. "Sasuke, where were you?" Sakura asked. "We were worried sick."

"I wasn't." Tobio said as he put more food into his mouth.

"Be nice!" Sakura shouted at the boy. "Sasuke, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Sasuke replied walking towards the stairs. "I was training and must've fallen asleep."

"You stay behind today." Kakashi waved at the boy. "We'll be able to handle the bridge today ourselves."

"Fine." The Uchiha said as he started to climb the stairs.

"That boy is going to be trouble." Tazuna groaned as he stood up.

"You take that back!" Sakura snapped.

"Easy Sakura." Kakashi pat her on the back. "Sasuke has some personal issues of his own."

"Who doesn't these days?" Tazuna asked as he put on his hat. "Let's get moving, this bridge isn't going to build itself."

Once Sasuke made it to the top of the stairs he came up to the room he knew was Inari's. With a glance he could see the boy looking out over the ocean. He was hunched out of his window. Sasuke looked closely at the boy and could see that his shoulders were quivering. "You're all idiots." Inari said with a pained voice.

"What?" Sasuke asked backing up to look into the door.

"I said you're all idiots!" He screamed back with tear stained cheeks. "You don't know how strong Gato is. There's no way anybody can beat him."

"Gato isn't my goal." Sasuke said loud enough for the boy to hear. "My goal makes Gato look like a piece of scum on your sandal." He narrowed his eyes at the boy. "If I can strive to beat someone like that, then you being this scared of Gato is just pathetic."

"Pathetic?" The boy screamed. "I'll show you who's pathetic!" He stepped off of the desk and heard a crash come from downstairs.

Sasuke turned his head but Inari had already ran down the steps. "Mommy!" The boy screamed as a large man wrapped his tightly corded arm around his throat.

"Don't touch him!" Tsunami screamed. "Just take me instead, but leave him be, he's just a little boy he won't do anything!"

Sasuke peaked from the stair case. He could see there were only two men, but he didn't see a way to neutralize them without Inari or Tsunami getting hurt. He grit his teeth in frustration as the mother and son duo were dragged outside.

"Let him go!" Tsunami screamed again. "I'll do whatever you want?"

"Anything?" The smaller man asked as he looked the woman up and down. "Let the brat go."

"Fine." The massive man dropped the boy to the ground.

Inari held himself as he watched them pull his mom away. "Pathetic." He said to himself as tears started to fall down his face. "I'm not pathetic!" He screamed as he scrambled to his feet.

"Inari don't." Tsunami screamed as she broke free of the thug's grasp.

Sasuke saw the only chance he was going to get and leapt from the roof of the house and stuck the men with kunai before landing in-between them. He was breathing heavily before he turned his head to see Tsunami clutching her son tightly. What shocked him was the look in Inari's eyes. It wasn't a terrified stare, or even a hate filled one. There was something more to his eyes, something that reminded Sasuke of Kakashi. It was the same glint Kakashi had when he swore that he wouldn't let them die. "If they came here, then that means Tazuna is in trouble." He shook his head. "You two, go somewhere safe where they won't be able to find you." Just as he was about to run he paused, "If it wasn't for you Inari, I never would've had the chance."

The boy looked at the ninja in front of him. His face shown with the shock he felt at the unexpected praise. "Protect my Grandpa." The boy sternly replied.

Sasuke didn't reply as he started running towards the unfinished bridge. He expected whatever fight he was about to get himself into wouldn't be as easy as the one he just escaped.

XXXX

Kakashi looked around himself. The fog was getting thicker. "I knew it." He sneered.

"What is it?" Tobio asked looking around, frantically.

"Zabuza." Was Kakashi's only reply.

"Ready for round two Kakashi?" The swordsman's voice bled through the air around them. "Don't think that little Sharingan of yours is going to save you this time."

Team 7 heads snapped as Zabuza revealed himself across the bridge from them. "We saw him die!" Sakura screamed.

"Not quite." Zabuza said glaring at the girl who stepped back from his stare.

"It only looked like he died." Kakashi said loud enough for the genin to hear. "Protect Tazuna, I'll handle Zabuza."

"Actually, there's someone here who's going to handle your little brats Kakashi." Zabuza said as the masked boy that took Zabuza appeared in front of them. "Haku, leave Kakashi for me. Do whatever you want with the other brats."

"As you wish Zabuza." Haku said as he lunged forward.

Kakashi saw the attacker moving forward but his hand missed Haku who dashed passed him. His eye widened as Haku got closer and closer to Sakura before Haku's momentum was halted.

Tobio was standing in front of Sakura holding a kunai with a bleeding arm. "Don't touch my friends." The genin groaned out as he looked at the masked boy in front of him.

Under his mask Haku almost gasped at the boy in front of him. He moved extremely fast, and all to protect someone. Maybe this was what he was like to everyone else.

Tobio pushed Haku away, but before Kakashi could reach him Zabuza was already in front of the Jonin. "I think we'll leave them to themselves."

"Damn it Zabuza." Kakashi gasped as he backed up and pulled his headband up.

"Your Sharingan?" Zabuza asked. "I guess I should've expected you to use that again. Too bad it won't work." He held his hands out and the fog continued to thicken. "You can't catch me in your genjutsu if you can't see me."

"You figured it out?" Kakashi looked all around himself.

"I did." Zabuza's voice echoed over the bridge. "The Sharingan is the blood line trait of the Uchiha clan. I wonder how somebody like you got your hands on that eye. Maybe you stole it during the Uchiha massacre."

Kakashi didn't want to play into Zabuza's games, he didn't have time. He glanced over and could see Tobio struggling to protect Sakura from the masked boy.

"You're adequate." Haku said to Tobio as the two danced around their attacks. "You're not going to beat me though."

"I don't have to beat you." He said as Haku slashed at his chest. He winced at the pain and glanced down at the blood trickling through his shirt. "I just have to stall."

"And why is that?" Haku asked as he stood up straight.

"Because once Kakashi Sensei finishes Zabuza, he'll come for you. And you can't beat him." Tobio grinned at the masked ninja in front of him.

"I see." Haku nodded his head. "The only option I have then, is to kill you." He held his hand up and crossed his fingers. Tobio felt his skin tighten at the nip of the cold air around him.

Sakura looked in amazement. She had been guarding Tazuna. She knew that wasn't entirely true, she was staying away from the fight. Tobio was the only one doing anything, he was an average ninja and here she was doing nothing; but what could she do against someone like Haku, that boy was absolutely amazing. And right in front of her the air had gotten colder and the mist around them fell to the ground. In another moment the water on the ground rose up in solid slabs of ice. Her teammate was surrounded and she couldn't do anything about it.

Tobio shivered slightly as he saw Haku walk into one of the ice mirrors. Before he even realized it the masked ninja was in all of the mirrors. "No one has ever survived this jutsu. I don't not expect you to be the exception."

Before Tobio could respond it started to rain senbon. Every single one of the Haku's threw a senbon and struck him. Within moments Tobio was in the most excruciating pain he had ever felt. The blood trickling down his body before it hit another senbon and then merged with that wound felt like he had just walked out of a warm bath. But it wasn't the same rejuvenated feeling, instead his eyes bulged out of his head and he screamed to the sky. He fell to his knees as he saw the blood started to drip onto the clean stone on the bridge. He looked up and saw all of the Hakus in the mirrors looking back at him. "I won't stop." He said as he stood to his feet. "I won't be like him and give up!" He screamed through the pain.

"Then die." Haku said as he held his hand out to throw more senbon. The Leaf ninja in front of him was nearly covered in senbon yet he got back up. Haku would be lying if he said he wasn't impressed by the feat.

Tobio started to run forward. Calling it running though wouldn't be right, he stumbled quickly towards the ice mirrors. He knew that if he could get out of the mirrors he might be able to stand a chance against his enemy. Just as he was about to reach the exit Haku lunged in front of him and kicked him away.

"That was your final move." Haku said as he readied another barrage of senbon and threw them.


	8. You're Right

Sasuke reached the front of the bridge and he could hear the sounds of battle ahead of him. He pushed as much chakra as he could into his legs to move faster. The first thing he was able to see was Sakura's pink hair, she was looking away from him further onto the bridge. He ran a bit farther and was able to see Tobio standing in an area that was completely surrounded by something. He kept running and caught a glimpse of Tobio glance at him. A smile seemed to grace the young genin's face before his entire body shook and fell to the ground.

Sasuke felt his test tighten as he kept running. He heard Sakura scream something at him, but he slid on the ground and held Tobio's head in his arms. "Hey, hey!" He screamed smacking the genin's face. "Get up you idiot, we don't have time for this."

Tobio coughed blood onto Sasuke's blue shirt. "Sorry, guess I'm never getting to the top of that tree." He looked up at Sasuke. "Did you make it?"

"Yeah." Sasuke nodded his head. "I did." His heart was slamming into his chest. It was happening again, more people were dying, and he couldn't stop it. "Once we get back to the village I'll show you how."

Tobio smiled back up at Sasuke, "I think that I'd…" His eyes went blank and his neck went limp. His head lolled in Sasuke's arms.

"Tobio, Tobio, Tobio!" Sasuke screamed but got no answer.

Haku watched the interaction with great interest. "Did you care about him?"

"He's my teammate!" Sasuke snapped back as he cradled Tobio in his arms. He didn't notice that there were Haku all around him in the mirrors.

"That is not what I asked." Haku replied. "I asked 'did you care about him'?"

Sasuke didn't know what to say, he didn't think he cared about anyone, but holding Tobio like this, and seeing his once animated face looking so vacant. "Yes." He looked at the ground.

"And you couldn't protect him." Haku said as he readied another series of senbon.

"You're right." Sasuke nodded his head. "I've never been able to protect anybody. The people around me die, and up until now I've kept everyone away from me." Haku's hands relaxed for a moment as he waited for what Sasuke would say next. "Now, I'm going to say something that when I heard it changed my life." His head snapped up. "I won't let my comrades die!" He screamed as his now blood red eyes glared at Haku.

Haku braced himself before he threw a barrage of senbon, but Sasuke was able to dodge every single one. "You aren't faster."

"No." Sasuke grinned up at the real Haku. "But I can see you." He drew a single kunai from his pouch and braced himself for the next barrage. He could see the path each needle would follow, and from there it was just a matter of not being in its way.

He threw the kunai into the air and heard fabric tearing. He looked to the kunai that slammed into a mirror and fell to the ground. There was a piece of Haku's clothing cut onto it. "Got you." He said turning to look up at the masked ninja.

"Why are you grinning?" Haku asked.

"Cause I've finally figured it out." He drew a series of shuriken from his pouch. "And now with these eyes, I can clearly see it."

"See what?"

"The path I must walk." Sasuke said as he saw the senbons starting to rain down onto him again. In response he threw all of the shuriken. A moment of silence passed as the weapons all flew through the air. Sasuke grit his teeth as all of the senbon sunk into his skin and he heard the clang of his shuriken crashing into one another.

The pain was extraordinary but he heard what he wanted to hear. Three of the shuriken sank into Haku's skin causing him to fall onto the ground and skid to a halt. "How?" Haku asked trying to stand up.

Sasuke didn't give him the chance and instead swung his foot slamming it into Haku's mask shattering it. "You." He said looking at the wounded boy in front of him. Sasuke drew a kunai from his pouch. "You're the bastard that killed him." He held the kunai high over his head.

XXXX

Kakashi still couldn't' see Zabuza but he could hear pained screams. He recognized Sakura's scream and Tobio's and he could've sworn he heard Sasuke too. Right now though he needed to focus on staying alive, he wasn't going to be much help to them if he was dead. "So tell me Zabuza, why'd you do it?"

"Do what?" Zabuza asked through the mist.

"Attack the Mizukage."

"That monster was culling his own people." Zabuza said through the mist as he gripped his massive sword tighter. "If they had a bloodline trait he'd have them executed. Can you imagine it Kakashi, killed just because of the way you were born? I'm a monster, but that's demonic."

"I hate to say it, but I can't blame you." Kakashi listened for any sign of where Zabuza was. "I might've done the exact same thing in your situation."

"Don't think I don't' appreciate the sentiment Kakashi, but the words of a dead man mean nothing." He said as he raised his sword into the air.

Kakashi heard the blade cut through the air. He had only a moment to react and he dove forward and rolled to a stop. He quickly sniffed the air and caught a whiff of Zabuza. "That's it." He whispered to himself as his hands moved in a blur. "Summoning Jutsu!" He shouted slamming his palm onto the ground. In a puff of smoke all around him were dogs. "You smell him?"

"We've got this Kakashi." The small pug responded before the dogs moved in a blur. Some of them charged straight ahead while some flanked the sides.

Kakashi heard the dogs bark and then Zabuza grunt. His hands moved quickly again as his hands started to glow and loud chirping was heard. "Lightning Blade!" He screamed as he charged forward to where he knew Zabuza was.

He saw the kill shot was perfectly left open to him by the Ninkin. After this he could save the rest of his team and then they'd all be safe. No one else had to die.

XXXX

Sasuke heard what sounded like birds as he glanced over to where he knew Kakashi was fighting. The Jonin was charging forward with a hand covered in lightning. "How?" Sasuke asked in shock, he could see the sheer amount of chakra that was coming of out Kakashi's hand.

Haku knew what was going to happen if he did nothing. He pushed his body up when Sasuke wasn't looking and slid into one of his mirrors. He had one chance at this, and he wasn't going to screw it up.

Sasuke watched the blur race past his face and felt the wind pass a moment later. He saw Kakashi lunge his hand forward and slam it into the enemy in front of him. Only it wasn't Zabuza like he was planning on doing, this time it was Haku.

Kakashi looked at the tired eyes of the boy in front of him. It was just like that night, he used this jutsu and someone else died. He shook his head and pulled his arm out of Haku as the boy fell to the ground.

Zabuza sneered as he forced the dogs off of himself and swung his sword down on Kakashi. The blade was inches away from killing the Leaf ninja when he felt a weight in his back. "No!" Came the scream from Sasuke as he kicked Zabuza away from Kakashi. "I won't let anyone else die!" He screamed as his Sharingan glared at the Mist Ninja.

"Another Sharingan." Zabuza readied his sword again. "It's no matter. You'll die just the same."

He charged forward and swung his sword downward as Sasuke dodged the blade, ripped a senbon out of his arm and slammed it back into Zabuza; all in a single motion.

Kakashi looked in awe at the way Sasuke moved with his Sharingan active. The precision actually reminded him of Obito just before his death. He clenched his fists before he jumped into the combat. He landed perfectly onto Zabuza's blade and slammed his foot into the Mist Ninja's face. "You've lost Zabuza." Kakashi said landing on the ground with Sasuke beside him.

"He died for you." Sasuke said gritting his teeth. "Just stop fighting."

"Him?" Zabuza asked while pointing his sword at Haku. "He was just a brat that I used. He was nothing more than another weapon in my arsenal. He was one of the better ones, but still just a weapon."

Sasuke felt his chest tighten as his two tomoed eyes stared at Zabuza. "So he gave his life to protect a piece of trash like you?"

"Call me what you want." Zabuza raised his sword again. "It doesn't matter."

"I agree." Kakashi said standing behind Zabuza with a drawn kunai. The Mist Ninja's eyes widened as the Kakashi in front of him disappeared. He was about to turn to attack when the kunai brushed against his throat and blood spilled out.

Sasuke watched as the Swordsman held dropped his sword and put his hand over his throat to slow the bleeding. "Damn you Kakashi." Was all he gurgled before he fell to the ground.

"Good riddance." Sasuke said turning to look at where Sakura was kneeling in front of Tobio's corpse.

"Tobio." Kakashi said as his feet started to move on their own. Before he knew it he was in front of the boy's body. He pulled the boy's chest to his ear, praying, begging to hear anything. His eyes closed as he not only heard nothing, but the body was already cold.

Clapping was heard from the other side of the bridge. "My, my. Now that was something. Good thing I won't have to pay him now. He went and tired all of you out, and now I just need to pay them." He snapped his fingers and all around him armed men stood with grins on their faces.

"Gato." Tazuna said with a hardened stare.

Kakashi was about to stand when Sasuke walked past him. "You contracted them?" He asked pointing back at Zabuza.

"Well, I did." Gato said with a laugh as the horde all joined him.

"Good to know." Sasuke said with a nod.

"Sasuke don't." Kakashi said as he stood to his feet. "You protect Tazuna."

"Get them." Gato said. "Bring me the girl."

Sasuke looked back at a terrified Sakura and felt his blood boil. He didn't know when it happened, but the next thing he was aware of he was directly in front of the mob with his kunai drawn. He saw a blade coming for him so he deftly leapt into the air as the blade slammed into another one of the gangsters.

He slid on the ground and slammed his kuani into the hard stone to stop his momentum before he threw one of them into one of the men's necks.

A thunk was heard in the distance as one of the men fell to the ground with an arrow in his neck. Sasuke turned and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Inari and the other villagers blocking the edge of the bridge. "How's this for pathetic?" Inari asked with a grin as he loaded another bolt in his crossbow.

Sasuke turned his attention towards Gato who was trying to sneak off of the bridge. "Gato!" He shouted to Sakura.

"Right." She shook her head and ran towards the man and cut him off holding her kunai at the ready.

"Get out of the way you bitch!" The man screamed. He froze as he felt a strong hand rest on his shoulder.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to give up while you're ahead." Tazuna said tightening his grip.

XXXX

Sasuke watched as the villagers lined up Gato and his thugs as each one was tied up and taken away. He grit his teeth at seeing that man still alive after everything he's done. "He doesn't deserve another second of life."

Sakura looked at the intense face Sasuke was making carefully. His eyes had returned to their normal black and he didn't look quite so menacing. If she ever had any thought about him hating people in the village because he didn't talk to them, that was completely gone. That was the true face of hatred. "Sasuke are you…" She froze as his attention was turned to her. He looked her up and down quickly before putting his hands in his pockets.

"Did any of them hurt you?"

Sakura put her hands at her side. "No, I'm fine Sasuke, are you hurt?"

"I'll be fine." He said turning to look at Kakashi who was walking towards them. "Where's Tobio?"

Kakashi held up a scroll. "In here." He said sadly.

"So what happens now?" Sakura asked. "We're supposed to be a three man squad."

Kakashi looked at his two remaining students. Sakura was looking up at him, a hopeful glimmer in her eye. While Sasuke continued to look ahead. "I, I don't know."


	9. New Normal

Sasuke walked out of his home. He wasn't looking forward to today, Sakura, Kakashi and himself were all going to speak with the Hokage about the future of their team. He rounded the corner and saw a depressed looking Sakura walking towards the Hokage tower. His first instinct was turn and walk another direction so he wouldn't have to interact with her. She saw him too fast. Her head turned sadly and she looked at him before looking away and continuing her walk towards the tower.

Sasuke took a step back for a second. Sakura not lighting up at seeing him was something entirely new to him, and he didn't know why that bothered him.

After a few minutes of walking in silence Sasuke made it to the front door where Kakashi and Sakura were waiting for him. "You two ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Sakura said holding herself.

Kakashi looked over at Sasuke who looked away from him. "We better get up there than." Kakashi said nodding his head.

Sasuke said nothing as he followed the other two up the stairs. The usual excitement was gone from Sakura and even Kakashi seemed lower than he usually did. Even when he was ignoring them there was something about it that showed Kakashi was having fun with it. Now though, all of that was gone, replaced by the same dark cloud that was hanging over all of them.

They reached the Hokage's office door and Kakashi looked over his shoulder to steal one last glance at his team. He raised his fist and rapped on the door. "Come in." Came the voice from the other side.

Kakashi pushed the door open and he and his Genin all walked into the room before standing in a line. "Team 7, Lord Hokage." Kakashi said. For once he didn't look off in the distance like he was bored, and put his hands in his pockets.

Sakura continued to hold herself out of fear for what might happen next. Sasuke had his hands in his pockets and was looking at the ground by his feet. Sarutobi looked around to make sure that no one else was listening before he spoke. "It breaks my heart to see things like this happening." The old man laced his fingers together. "Sadly this is the reality for many ninja." His eyes fell onto Kakashi who didn't flinch under the gaze. "Genin are specifically put into teams of three and those teams are selected based on traits you all possess. Sakura you were chosen because your mind would allow you to see things the others could not. Sasuke you were chosen because your advanced skills would force you to have to learn alongside someone else instead of on your own."

"And what about Tobio?" Sakura chirped.

The Hokage took a breath as he pushed his chair back and stood up. "Tobio was going to be your heart." He turned to look out his window. "I had hoped that he would portray the Will of Fire and be able to pull it out of those around him." He turned and looked at the Team as he walked around his desk. "Sadly you cannot survive without your heart."

"So what does that mean for us?" Sasuke asked looking up at the man. He made sure not to put any chakra out so he wouldn't activate his Sharingan in a threatening way.

"What do you think Kakashi?" The Hokage asked the Jonin.

"You read my report." Kakashi replied.

"I did." Hiruzen said walking back to his desk and picking up a piece of paper. "You talked about how you killed both Mist Ninjas. Sasuke protected the Bridge Builders family while Sakura protected him personally. What was Tobio doing during that time?"

"He was fighting one of the other ninjas." Sakura replied for everyone to hear. "You should've seen him Lord Hokage, I've never seen anyone that passionate."

"Yes." Hiruzen replied putting his arms behind his back. "I'm sorry to say that you two will probably end up on different teams now. Kakashi you're relieved of your command."

"No." Was the only response that was heard in the room. Everyone turned to look at a glaring Sasuke.

"Sasuke, you can't talk…"

"I'm not joining any other team." Sasuke said glaring at the Hokage who returned the glare in response.

"And why not?" Hiruzen asked.

Sasuke grit his teeth and looked around the room. He saw Sakura waiting expectantly for his reply, the first glimmer of hope he had seen in her eyes in days. Kakashi only glanced at him before facing forward again. The Hokage, the strongest man in the entire village, a man considered to be the God of Shinobi, waited to hear his response. "I…" He froze for a moment.

"Because we're a team!" Sakura erupted shocking everyone. "When Kakashi Sensei gave us the bell test we almost succeeded. How many other teams have passed the test?"

"Four." Kakashi answered. "Team 7 was the first that I personally passed. Didn't you pass a team off the Bell Test?"

Hiruzen's lip raised for a moment before his stoic face returned. "This may hurt your chances at promotions." He warned.

"I only want to be on Sasuke and Kakashi's team!" Sakura shouted.

"What about you Sasuke?" Hiruzen asked.

Again, all eyes fell onto the Uchiha. He knew exactly why he didn't want to be on a different team. He couldn't explain it though, all he knew was that he had to be there next time one of them was in danger so that he could save them. "Because I want to protect those close to me."

Hiruzen turned his back to the genin to hide the smile that came over his face. That was better than he had hoped to hear from Sasuke. The real reason he was put on Team 7 was so that he could finally bond with someone, and that is exactly what happened. He sat in his desk and looked at the Team in front of him. "I suppose for now keeping Team 7 together would be for the best. Your mission to the Land of Waves quickly escalated from a C rank to an A rank. Normally something like this would happen much later in your careers and you'd all be promoted to the rank of Chunin. However I can't in good conscience promote you yet." Sakura nodded her head and Sasuke let out a breath. "A two man team is too small to enter the upcoming Chunin exams, so instead Kakashi will decide when you two are ready."

"Lord Hokage?" Kakashi asked in shock. "This is highly out of the ordinary."

"So is a two man genin squad." Hiruzen replied from his chair. "I'm taking a risk with you Team 7, don't make me regret it."

XXXX

Kakashi led his team down to the ground level. The air of sadness didn't wash away, but there was relief. "Please don't do that again."

"We got what we wanted." Sasuke responded. "No sense in crying about it now."

"He may have wanted us to stand up to him like that." Sakura put her arms behind her back and looked up at Kakashi. "So what next Kakashi Sensei?"

"We'll meet here in the morning to pick up a mission, a D rank!" He emphasized.

"Fine with me." Sakura said with relief in her voice.

Kakashi started to walk away. "Kakashi."

"Yes Sasuke?" The Jonin asked without turning.

"When is Tobio's funeral?"

"There won't be one." Was the only response before he shunshined away.

"There won't be one?" Sakura asked in confusion. "Why's that?" Sasuke grit his teeth as he started walking. "Sasuke, where are you going?" Sakura asked.

XXXX

Sasuke knocked on the door in front of him and a man with spiky black hair opened the door. "What do you want?" He looked at them both.

"Why is there no funeral?" Sasuke asked.

The man tried to slam the door but Sasuke blocked it with his foot. "Just get out of here. I warned that idiot not to become a ninja!"

Sasuke's eyes flared with anger as the red tint of the Sharingan revealed itself. "Watch your tongue!"

"You're on my stoop!" The man screamed at them. "That idiot son of mine…" He extended each syllable to make a point. "became a ninja, even though it's what killed his mother. And look what happened, it killed him, shocker. Now I don't want to go to another funeral, so there won't be one." He pushed Sasuke back and slammed the door shut.

"Bastard." Sasuke heaved under his breath as he turned around.

Sakura glared at the door in front of her before turning to see Sasuke shoving his hands in his pockets and walking away. "Sasuke, what are you doing?" She shouted.

"I can't do anything!" He shouted without turning around.

XXXX

The sun rose behind Sasuke as he stared at the marble memorial in front of him. The name had been carved into it already so this was the closest thing they'd ever have to a grave. "Did you ever go home?"

"No." Sasuke replied looking at the names. "They never got to go home."

"I used to think that way." Kakashi responded standing beside Sasuke. "Did you talk to him?"

"How would I do that?" Sasuke asked.

The Jonin shrugged his shoulders. "I usually just talk to Obito as if he were right in front of me."

"And what do you talk about?"

"What's going on in the village. How I think he'd feel about different things." Kakashi put his hands in his pockets.

"Is this why you're always late?"

"Yeah." Kakashi responded. "I think he would've liked Tobio. Or they would've screamed at one another for a while. One or the other."

"He gave you his eye." Sasuke said looking at his hand. "I don't have anything from Tobio."

"That's how it usually happens." Kakashi explained. "The people around us leave, or die. We're all left behind to pick up the pieces, more often than not we can never bring normal back. Every time our lives are shattered we have to find a new normal. Sometimes it's worse than the old, sometimes it's better; it's just life."

"Is your normal better now?"

"I don't know yet." Kakashi said looking at the carved names on the stone.

 _ **Thank you everyone for reading this far. It has been a ton of fun to write. I'm not done witht he story, in fact the Land of Waves mission was more of a prologue than anything. I have big plans lined up for this fic, and I hope by the end it comes out as good as it is in my mind. Reviews are always wildly appreciated, I love to hear feedback to know if I'm doing well, or if there is something that I need to work on. I do these fics in between my regular novels to keep myself sharp and to get feedback on my skill.**_


	10. Proud of Your Boy

Sasuke tightened his headband as he looked out onto the village in front of him. A gust of wind pushed his hair back. He was standing on top of a massive water tank and could see the Hokage monument ahead of himself. The breeze carried the smell of pork hung in the air. He turned to where the smell was coming from and saw a barbecue restaurant. He dropped down to the village streets and walked over to the shop.

He had known that this shop existed, but he couldn't remember why he always avoided it. Then like a screeching banshee he was reminded. "Sasuke!" He tried to turn around. "Sasuke over here!"

"Leave him alone." Came the response of a familiar voice.

Sasuke was about to step out of the restaurant when he felt a strong yet gentle hand on his shoulder. "So you're the Sasuke we hear about."

Sasuke turned and saw a massive woman smiling at him. "Mom, just let him go." Came Choji Akimichi's plea.

"Nonsense Choji. He needs some meat on his bones." She said grabbing his arm and pulling him to the table that Choji and the other members of Team 10 were sitting at.

"Hey Sasuke." Shikamaru lazily greeted the Uchiha.

Sasuke grunted as he was put in the seat beside Shikamaru. Ino glared at her rotund teammate who ignored her glare and put a piece of meat in his mouth. "Seriously Mom, you can tell he doesn't want to be here. Sasuke doesn't like us."

"Sasuke doesn't like anyone." Shikamaru pointed out.

"That's not true!" Ino bellowed. "Isn't that right Sasuke?" She smiled at the uncomfortable boy.

Mrs. Akimichi walked back to the kitchen, most likely to get Sasuke some food. "I heard what happened with Tobio." Shikamaru said between yawns. "That's insane."

Sasuke stiffened at the mention of his late teammate. "I doubt it bothered him though." Choji pointed out between breaths. "Like you said, Sasuke doesn't like anyone. Besides, he's seen worse."

"Choji." Shikamaru snarled at his friend.

Without a word Sasuke stood up from the booth and walked out of the restaurant. "See what you did you moron?" Ino screamed.

"What?" Choji asked.

Sasuke trudged through the village. Seeing them again was a stark reminder to how everybody saw him. He was the poor child that was left with no one. And because of that he became hard and closed off to everything. It took watching his first friend die to realize how lonely Sasuke really felt. He glanced up at the Hokage monument and looked at the Third.

When he said that Team 7 would be split up he couldn't let that happen. He felt a bond with people, and he hated to think that he'd lose it that fast. Choji was right though, Sasuke didn't care about anybody, and that was something that needed to change.

For so long all he carried inside of himself was hatred and anger, something needed to change. He held his hand over his chest and nodded his head.

He turned down a street he hadn't been down in years. He put his hand on the large Uchiha fan that was painted onto the wall. The district was largely abandoned and hadn't been used since that night. The villagers tended to avoid it because of the rumors of haunting. He still didn't fully understand why the entire thing wasn't burned to the ground.

He slid open the paper door and slipped his shoes off as he stepped into the house. He turned down the hallway he had memorized and opened the same door he had all those years ago. He half expected to see their bodies still lying there, but the room had mostly been cleaned. The blood still left a faint stain on the floor where they had been. "Hey." He said to the room. "I haven't been here in a while, but I just wanted to say…" He stopped for a minute. "I made a friend." He walked into the room and shut the door behind himself. "I didn't really know him when we were in school, but we were put on the same team. He kind've reminded me of myself. He was driven by someone else, and what they meant to him. It almost felt like looking in a mirror…" He paused for a moment. "He's dead now. And I haven't felt this alone since…" He rolled his neck as he felt the lump in his throat. "Since you two died."

He visibly relaxed as the words came out of his mouth. "I know you wouldn't like who I've become. I'm obsessed with avenging you, but I never actually stopped to be myself. I'm still chasing someone else, even now I'm chasing after him." He balled his fists as his eyes shifted to their red color. "These eyes, I get it now. They aren't a blessing they're a scar." A single tear fell from his eyes before he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm going to be make you proud. You're going to be proud of your boy." He turned around and walked out of the room without another word.

XXXX

"Glad you could join me." Sakura said crossing her arms as Sasuke walked towards her. "Have you seen sensei?"

"He'll be here soon." Sasuke answered sitting beside the pinkette.

She looked around to make sure that no one was playing some kind of trick on her. Sasuke was sitting next to her, and not because she was the one who sat with him. "Is everything ok Sasuke?"

"Yeah." The Uchiha said keeping his eyes forward as he leaned on his knees and laced his fingers together.

Sakura looked closely at her teammate. There was something different about him, but she couldn't figure it out. Her thoughts were stopped when their sensei landed in front of them. "You're late, and to make things worse you've become a bad example on Sasuke!" She shouted pointing at the Uchiha.

"Late?" Kakashi asked in shock. "I always said to meet at this time, isn't that right Sasuke?"

"Yup."

"See." Kakashi eye smiled at the kunoichi.

"Great, you two are picking on me now." Sakura put her head in her hands and shook her head. "So what are we doing today Sensei?"

Kakashi leaned back and looked at the two of his students. "Well since your piers will be training for the Chunin exams, I thought it would be best if I trained you two to be on their level."

"But Sasuke was the best in our class!" Sakura shouted. "He's already better than any of them are."

"For now." Kakashi nodded his head. "But what about once one of them becomes Chunin? What's to stop any of them from getting better than you, or Sasuke, or even me? Even the Hokage starts as a Genin."

"So what kind of training were you thinking?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm glad you asked Sasuke." Kakashi said with a smile. "We're meeting a friend of mine, he has his own team of genin, and I think you two could learn something from them."

"You have a friend, sensei?" Sakura asked with a smirk.

Kakashi said nothing as he pulled out his book and started walking. "Come along children."

The two genin both rolled their eyes as they all walked through the village. Sasuke turned his head as he saw into a ramen shop. He had known that it was actually a popular meetup spot for some of the locals, but he had never actually tried the stuff. "You ever eat there?" He asked Sakura.

"Hm?" She turned her head to look inside of the restaurant. "No, I haven't." Her cheeks blushed as she looked back at Sasuke. "Are you asking if I want to go?"

"What? No." Sasuke responded as he sped up his pace to walk beside Kakashi, deflating the Kunoichi behind him.

"That was rude." Kakashi said just loud enough for the Uchiha to hear.

"Friendship is one thing, that's another." He said putting his hands into his pockets.

"I suppose." Kakashi said with a breath.

XXXX

"Here we are." Kakashi said looking around the training field.

"Sakura!" Came a scream from inside of the woods as a blur burst from inside. Sasuke didn't hesitate to get in front of the girl before a boy with a bowl cut and thick eyebrows was standing in front of him. "Sasuke Uchiha." The boy said quickly. "Please step aside so that I might woo her."

Sasuke stepped to the side once he saw the Lead headband around the boy's waist. "Be my guest."

Sakura looked at her teammate with betrayal etched onto her face. "Sakura the most beautiful!" He shouted at her. "I would love to ask if you would accompany me to dinner this evening." He got down on one knee and held his arms out, as if he was expecting her to throw herself into his arms.

"I'm good." Sakura said walking around the boy who didn't move. Once she was beside Sasuke his eyes opened in shock.

"Gai Sensei!" He screamed as he ran at full speed back into the woods.

"What was that?" Sakura asked Kakashi. The Jonin looked on in shock and fear. "Sensei?"

"There's two of them." Kakashi said as if he was looking into the pits of hell themselves.

"Kakashi!" Came the loudened scream from inside of the forest. With wind to his back another man emerged from the forest. He was dressed exactly like the boy who had come out at first, only he wore a flak jacket. "My eternal rival!"

"Hello Gai." Kakashi said holding his hand up but not waving it. "My students here aren't going to be participating in the Chunin Exams, so I figured seeing the progress your students have made would do them some good."

"I see!" Gai shouted as he turned his attention towards the two genin. "I'm sure if they are half as youthful as you, they will become great ninja."

"Sorry what?" Kakashi shook his head as if he had been sleeping.

"So cool." Gai said to himself.

"Gai Sensei, don't just run off like that." Came the voice of a girl. Sakura looked past the man to see her girl with chestnut brown hair, that was tucked into two buns on the top of her head. Her eyes showed the gentleness to her personality. "Oh, hi." She said waving at the other two genin.

"Neji!" Gai shouted. "What are you waiting for?"

"I'm here Sensei." Came the calm voice of another boy who emerged from the tree line.

"Neji here is considered to be a prodigy among the Hyuuga." Gai said proudly. "A natural born ninja." He looked around for a moment, "Lee!"

"Coming Gai Sensei!" Came a scream before the first boy came back and was jogging in place.

"What is he doing?" Sasuke asked.

"I was not able to woo the lovely Sakura, so I must run for fifteen minutes, even if that means I have to do it in place!" He screamed into the air.

"Atta boy Lee!" Gai shouted to the boy, giving him a thumbs up. The sun seemed to shimmer off his teeth.

"What is going on?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Don't worry, you get used to it." The girl said with a giggle. "And who's this?" She said turning to look at Sasuke.

"Name's Sasuke, Uchiha." He paused as he looked at the white eyed boy in front of him.

"I've heard." Neji said with a smirk.

"Gai Sensei!" Lee screamed. "I wish to spar with Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Not interested." Sasuke cut them off.

"Nonsense." Kakashi responded. "What's a little competition between two young boys? Isn't that right Gai?"

"Lee, win this for the power of youth!" Gai screamed at the boy.

"Youth!" Lee echoed.

"I'm dreaming, it's the only thing that makes sense." Sakura said looking around in sheer confusion.

"Just relax." The other girl said putting her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "My name is Tenten."

"Hi Tenten." Sakura said between breaths. "We might want to get out of the way. Things could get a bit erratic."

"Ok." Sakura nodded as she walked with Tenten and Neji closer to the tree line to watch Sasuke's sparring match.

"You can't be serious Kakashi." Sasuke said looking up at the Jonin.

"Entirely." Kakashi responded as he looked over at Gai. "You're gonna need your Sharingan for this kid."

"There's no way." Sasuke scoffed looking at the two fools across the way. "They're crying." He pointed out as they tearfully embraced.

"Yeah, Gai does that." Kakashi responded as he pulled out his book. "Good luck out there Sasuke. And remember, if you lose, it's not the end of the world. He does have an entire year of experience on you."

"Whatever you say." Sasuke said looking over at the boy who was stretching his legs.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Lee said taking a weird stance where he had one hand extended in front of him. "I have been told that you are the man that Sakura long for. I shall defeat you and prove that I am worthy of her."

A tick mark appeared on Sakura's head. "Kick his ass Sasuke, you can do it!" She screamed.

Sasuke took a breath and shut his eyes. "Shinobi combat, begin!" Gai shouted just as Sasuke's eyes opened revealing his two tomoed Sharingan.


	11. Not The Way

The wind blew past the two ninjas. Both waiting for the other one to make the first move. The only noise that could be heard from the training field was the blowing leaves above them. Then on an unheard signal they charged at one another. Sasuke swung his leg out but Lee had already leapt into the air over the attack. His fist collided into Sasuke's face causing the Uchiha to slide backwards.

Sasuke wiped the spit from his mouth. He had seen the attack coming, but couldn't do anything to stop it. Lee had waited until the perfect moment to strike, right when Sasuke was the most off balance. Sasuke grit his teeth and glared at the straight-faced ninja in front of him. He wasn't getting overexcited about his ability, nor was he confident. He knows his limits, and Sasuke was painfully aware of how important that was.

Sasuke's feet started moving and Lee was already preparing. He knew that single strike wouldn't be enough to stop someone like Sasuke. He had heard about what happened on his last mission. Sasuke had already had his first taste of mortal combat. He knew that he had to be wary of the Sharingan, Gai Sensei had told him many times of the prowess of Kakashi Sensei. And it was clear to most that was partially due to his own Sharingan.

Sasuke was in front of Lee. He was keeping his eyes open for any kind of Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. With his Sharingan, he'd not only be able to see it, he'd be able to copy it. He ducked low for a uppercut but Lee's foot slammed into his face knocking him into the air.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted.

Kakashi glanced over at Gai who was watching the fight closely.

Sasuke landed on the ground and slid a few feet farther. He wiped his mouth again. Getting hit in the exact same spot was humiliating, and it being from this green spandex wearing moron made it even worse. On his feet again Sasuke was trying to come up with some kind of plan. He reached into his pouch and wrapped his hand around exactly what he was looking for.

He charged again, but before he and Lee were in striking distance of one another he threw the smoke bomb onto the ground. Lee whipped his head around as Sasuke emerged from the smoke behind him. "Leaf Hurricane!" Lee shouted as once again his foot slammed into Sasuke.

Sasuke slid to a halt again and popped back onto his feet. "That's it." His hands moved in a blur, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" A massive ball of fire escaped his lips and hurled towards Lee who still maintained his stiff posture.

"Got him." Sasuke grinned.

"No you have not." Came Lee's response behind Sasuke who barely had enough time to turn around before he was hurled into the air.

Sasuke grunted in midair when he realized that Lee had followed him up and was completely behind him. "Gai." Kakashi said looking at his fellow Jonin.

"This ends here!" Lee shouted as the wrappings on his hands started to come undone.

"That's enough!" Gai shouted as he threw a kunai that landed on Lee's bandages pinning them to a tree.

The two genin landed back on the ground. Sasuke slamming into the grass, while Lee gracefully landed on his feet. "I would've had him." Sasuke sneered at Kakashi.

"No you wouldn't." Kakashi said flipping the page of his book.

"You don't know that!"

"But I do." Neji interrupted. Sasuke glared at the Hyuuga who glared right back. "Your visual abilities may let you see things, but if you can't do anything about it what's the point? Lee is faster, than you plain and simple." He scoffed. "This is what passes for a prodigy in the academy these days? No wonder."

"No wonder what?" Sasuke asked getting back to his feet. "Finish the sentence Hyuuga!"

Neji turned his back and started to walk away. "I don't feel I have to."

Sasuke was about to charge at the Hyuuga but Lee was already in front of him. "That is not the way." He said looking at his former opponent.

Neji's eyes relaxed. The veins disappearing before he walked back into the forest he had come from.

"Your team is intense." Sakura whispered to Tenten.

"Well you've got the handsome brooder." Tenten pointed out earning a glare from Sakura.

She held her hands up in defense. "Relax, relax."

Sakura looked back to see a still seething Sasuke. "How did Lee go so fast?"

"Lee was born without the ability to use Ninjutsu, or Genjutsu. To compensate for this he has dedicated his mind, body, and spirit to the betterment of his Taijutsu." Gai said with a grin. "Even with the Sharingan, Sasuke might've been aware of an attack, but his body was not fast enough to actually stop it."

Kakashi walked over to where Sasuke was; his nose still buried into his book. "Calm down Sasuke. I knew you were going to lose, that's why I brought you here."

"What?" Sasuke glared at his sensei.

"You and Sakura are not normal Genin anymore." Kakashi turned another page. "I need you to see your shortcomings so that you can overcome them. I'm not going to be treating either of you like children, but as ninja that serve under me. So I'm going to show you exactly where you need to improve." Kakashi turned away and looked at Sakura.

"What?"

"Your turn." Kakashi eye smiled at the girl.

"C'mon." Tenten tilted her head as she walked to the space Sasuke and Lee had fought in. "Let's see what you've got pinky."

"Go ahead." Kakashi didn't look up from his book.

Sakura tentatively walked towards the sparring area. She hadn't had a real fight since the Academy, and even those were just tests. This was a legitimate spar, they weren't being graded, it was pass, fail. "Ready when you are." Tenten said with a grin.

Sakura's feet moved before she could realize she was running. Tenten gasped as the pinkette was already in front of her with a fist cocked back. "Cha!" Sakura screamed as she slammed her fist into Tenten's stomach. She hadn't actually expected to land the attack. She looked over at the spectators and Sasuke was rubbing his jaw, but watching intently. Kakashi still held his book in front of his face, but his eye was on the fight. Gai and Lee were both watching in shock.

"Lucky shot." Tenten groaned. "Don't expect to get another one." She smiled at the girl in front of her.

She couldn't explain why, but hearing that really pissed Sakura off. She wrapped her fist around Tenten's shirt and swung the girl over her shoulder slamming her down onto the ground.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open at seeing that part of Sakura. He knew she was smart, but he thought that was where her abilities stopped. Had she been training in private?

Tenten rolled away from the berserker in front of her. Sakura's fists were coming one after the other, and after that first one she really didn't want to get hit again. When Sakura swung her leg out the brunette saw that as her chance. She leapt back and high into the air as she pulled a scroll out of her pocket.

"Looks like I win Kakashi." Gai said with his trademark grin.

Kakashi just continued to watch. He knew what Tenten was about to do, he was just curious as to what Sakura was planning on doing.

Sakura stared in shock as weapons seemed to poof into existence all around Tenten. They rained down onto her sinking deep into her flesh.

Sasuke watched in shocked fear, his blood boiled but a strong arm latched onto his shoulder. He glanced up and saw Kakashi watching the fight closely. "Stay."

Tenten landed on the ground with a look of terror carved onto her face. "Sakura!" She screamed. The Sakura in front of her faded away, but Tenten was too late to see exactly what had happened.

"Cha!" Tenten gasped as Sakura's fist slammed into her back. "I'm not helpless!" Sakura screamed as she moved past a stunned Tenten and swept her legs, and in a blur was on top of the weapons user with a kunai pressed onto her throat.

"That's it." Kakashi said walking out to the field. He was shocked to see that both girls were holding kunai to one another.

"That looks like a draw to me Kakashi." Gai said with a smile.

Kakashi moaned as he looked at his rival. "We'll settle it another time."

Sasuke was still shocked. Today he had lost his fight, but Sakura had won hers. And he felt like no one was expecting her to be the winner in this fight.

Sakura got off of Tenten and breathed heavily as she leaned back on her palms. "This one's yours." She said sinking the kunai into the dirt.

"And this is yours." Tenten said with her grin. "Those were some good moves there. Genjutsu, right?"

"Yeah." Sakura nodded her head. "I can't cast anything too complicated, but just myself getting hit, that I can do."

"Keep that in your back pocket." Tenten stood to her feet and dusted off her pants. "Never know when it will come in handy." She turned to walk back towards Lee. "See you around Sakura." She said with her smirk.

Sakura turned to look at a stunned Sasuke who looked away from her and at the ground in front of him. He doesn't feel like he's gotten any stronger since he awakened his Sharingan. He thought that once he had those eyes, he would be unbeatable. That he would be just like all of the other Uchiha, like Itachi. Then he could finally avenge his family.

"Earth to Sasuke." Sakura waved in front of his face. "Are you sure you're alright?" She asked cocking her head to the side.

Sasuke was taken back, there was something different in Sakura's eyes. It wasn't the same obsession the other girls had with him. It was similar to the way he saw the other kids look at their siblings. There was admiration behind them, but not reverence. "I'm fine." He waved her off. "Was that all you wanted from us Kakashi?"

"I suppose." The Jonin finally put his book back in his pocket. "You both did well today, and I hope that you learned something. Otherwise it's going to make my teaching look bad."

Sakura deadpanned at the man. "You're fine." She pointed at him.

"I thought so." Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck with an eye smile.

"Sasuke did you want to get something to eat?" Sakura asked smiling at the Uchiha.

He was about to open his mouth to decline but paused for a second. The words he had heard earlier in the day were ringing in his head. "Sasuke doesn't like anyone." He didn't know why, but he didn't want people to see him that way.

"Fine." He put his hands in his pockets. "I saw a place not too far away from here that seemed pretty cool."

"That ramen place?" Sakura asked falling in step beside Sasuke.

Under his mask Kakashi was genuinely smiling at Sasuke. He was afraid that the Uchiha was going to continue to shut himself away from people. He just hated that it took the death of one of his own students for Sasuke to get there.


	12. Chunin Exams Begin

The next day Sasuke walked to the usual meeting spot where he saw that Sakura was already waiting for him. "Just like Kakashi sensei." The pinkette bemoaned to herself.

"Talking about people behind their backs, now that's just rude." The Jonin said, appearing from nowhere.

"Don't do that!" Sakura screamed at the man.

"So what are you going to have us do today? More sparring?" Sasuke put his hands in his pocket.

"Sorry, but today I'm going to be a little busy so I've asked a friend of mine to help you two out." Kakashi eye smiled at the duo.

Sakura looked her sensei, the fear clear on her face. "You aren't leaving us with Gai Sensei are you?"

"No, no." Kakashi waved her off. "He and his team are going to be busy with the first part of the Chunin exams today."

"I forgot that was today." Sakura replied thoughtfully.

"In fact, you will be helping with the exams." Kakashi smiled at the two.

"So these are the brats?" Came a harsh woman's voice above them.

"Yes they are." Kakashi smiled up at the woman. She was standing with the sun to her back leaving only a silhouette for everyone to see.

Sakura smiled, she was going to be taught by someone she could look up to, someone she could long to be like. This was going to be a great day! "Alright kids, let's get to work." Sakura brimmed with joy. "You can start drawing up this banner." She shouted as she threw arts and crafts supplies down in front of them. All of Sakura's excitement faded and she glared back at Kakashi who didn't even seem to notice the woman was there. "Don't hurt them too bad Anko." Kakashi said walking off.

"No promises." She said as she jumped from the building in front of them.

"This has to be some kind of joke." Sasuke sneered. "We're ninja, not children who do art projects."

Anko looked the Uchiha up and down, and Sasuke did the same. Most of her outfit was comprised of a fishnet mesh with some kind of flesh colored clothing underneath. She had forgone the usual flak jacket and instead wore a tan trench coat. Her hair purple hair was pulled back into a pointed ponytail that reminded Sasuke a bit of Tobio. "You look like little shrimp to me. You aren't chunin, so you're genin. Genin are children, so it all adds up." She handed Sasuke a large marker, "Get to work. I'll be back in an hour, and I expect the two of you will have it finished by the time I got back."

"And where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"None of your business." The woman turned around to glare at the genin. "If I were you, I'd make sure that banner was amazing."

"What is it even for?" Sasuke picked up the large tarp.

"You'll see." The woman grinned.

XXXX

"You're joking." Sasuke said looking at the academy across the street. He and Sakura were standing on the roof of another building with a smirking Anko. "Why can't you just use the door?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Anko asked sticking her tongue out at the two. "And this is the best you could do?" She asked patting the rolled up banner beside her.

"Well sorry, we didn't really put too much effort into art studies." Sakura snapped at the woman.

"Let's just get this over with." Sasuke crossed his arms with his eyes shut. He knew that this was going to be humiliating. While all of his peers were testing to see if they would be promoted, he was going to be playing teacher's pet. He hated the kids who did that in their classes. He glanced over at Sakura, she had been one of them back in the Academy. Luckily it seems she had grown out of that. He knew how he felt about Tobio's death, but Sakura had kept most of it to herself. She showed some improvement she had made when she fought Tenten, but besides that he hadn't even paid enough attention to know.

"Alright kiddies," Anko said bracing herself for the jump. "On my mark, we move."

"Wait, we're jumping too?" Sakura asked quickly. "I thought you were going to go alone."

"I was, but I figured the two of you deserved a little reward for your work."

"Reward?" Sasuke asked.

"Posing next to me of course." The woman stuck out her tongue. "Now let's move genin!" She shouted before jumping.

Sasuke didn't hesitate and was behind her in an instant with Sakura trailing behind him and holding the other half of the banner.

The glass shattered in front of them as Anko ducked low, presumably for one of the genin to jump over her. Sasuke undid the clasp and let the banner open up. He wrapped one end onto a kunai and tossed it at the ceiling as he slid across the ground.

He looked at the people in the classroom and most of them were in a state of shock. "You're still too early." A enormous man behind the banner coughed.

"Did you give the final question?" Anko deadpanned.

"I did."

"Then I'm not too early!" Anko cheered. She stopped when she looked and saw the stunned faces of the Chunin applicants all start to giggle. "What?" She asked as she turned around.

"The ravenous Anko Mitarashi!" Was written plainly on the banner along with a crude drawing of the woman stuffing her face with dango. She glared at the two genin Sakura sheepishly smiled while Sasuke acted like he didn't even notice her. In small writing on the banner was written. "Proctor of the second exam."

"We put what you told us." Sasuke simply said.

The giggles throughout the room were obvious. It was mostly from the younger applicants, and even then it was almost entirely the Leaf ninja. An uproarious laugh was heard in the back as a boy with a Rain headband pointed at the grimacing woman. "That's a good one!"

"Shut it!" Anko screamed throwing a kunai at the boy. It grazed over his cheek slicing it slightly.

The boy touched his cheek and winced slightly at the wound before looking at the blood on his fingers. "Oh, she's good."

"Listen up!" Anko screamed getting everyone's attention. Honestly it was something she didn't need to do, everyone in the room was already terrified of the crazy dango lady cutting them. "Meet me at the Forty-Fourth Training Ground for the second phase of your exams!" She turned on the two genin that she had been tasked with. "You." She glared.

"Everybody out!" The massive man with the bandana shouted, and the genin in the room followed suit. Some of Sakura, and Sasuke's former classmates looked over their shoulders at the weird turn of events.

XXXX

In front of the training ground Sasuke leaned against the chain linked fence. Anko had already explained the test's parameters to those taking part. Since it was a survival test he knew some of the kids in his class would do better. The one that would probably struggle the most would be Team 10. Team 8 however was at a massive advantage. The forest was probably stuffed with insects, and working through a forest is instinctual for a dog. Making Shino and Kiba insanely useful for the test.

The Team from Sand seemed capable, but they were erring on the side of caution by not showing any of their capabilities. The redheaded boy seemed to just blankly stare into the forest as if he wasn't even human. It actually made Sasuke a little uncomfortable to look at.

"So you're the legendary Sasuke Uchiha?" A girl with a wide brimmed hat said.

Sasuke noticed the Grass marking on the hat and groaned. "What's it to you?"

"Just curious. I had hoped to see you out there."

"Sorry to disappoint." Sasuke glared. "Change of plans."

"Indeed." The girl said with a wicked grin as she walked away with Sasuke glaring at her.

"Sasuke!" Came the flirtatious voice that caused him to shudder.

"Hello Ino." The Uchiha said looking away from the blonde.

"So how'd you get stuck helping the instructor?" Ino asked as she walked into the Uchiha's eye sight.

"Kakashi Sensei stuck us with her." Sasuke shut his eyes.

"Leave him alone Ino." Choji said walking alongside Shikamaru towards the two genin. "It's obvious that you're just annoying him."

"Shut up Choji, you don't know what you're talking about!" Ino shouted back.

"Let's get going!" Anko shouted as Sakura handed her all of the release forms. "Everyone at their starting gate, we don't have all day!"

"Let's go." Shikamaru groaned as he turned around and walked away from the Uchiha with Ino and Choji following behind him.

"Hey." Sasuke said getting them to stop and look back at him. Sasuke grit his teeth for a moment before taking a breath. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Shikamaru said turning with a slight smile on his face. He understood what Sasuke was trying to do, and if he were honest he was glad to see it happening.

"What were you talking to them about?" Sakura asked walking over towards her teammate.

"Nothing." Sasuke said as he pushed off of the fence and walked towards Anko who was watching her watch.

"Go!" She shouted and each gate swung open at the same time. Each team burst through at full speed, each one hoping to either get ahead of everyone else.

"This seems a little extreme." Sasuke told the Specialist Jonin. "Especially for a test."

"Once you make Chunin you'll see. You have to prepare for the worst at all times." Anko said looking at the other instructors to make sure each gate was opened.

"Trust me, I understand." Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. "So what are we doing while we wait?"

"Well I was going to buy the two of you lunch at my favorite dango shop, but after that little joke you pulled, I don't feel like it." Anko said turning around and putting her hands in her jacket. So the two of you can do hang around here for the time being.

Sakura crossed her arms in frustration. "Hey Sakura." Sasuke said looking away from the Kunoichi.

"Yeah Sasuke?" The girl asked feeling that there was something wrong.

"You never really talked about what happened in Wave." Sasuke looked into the forest.

"Neither did you." Sakura said as she held herself and crouched low onto the ground. "I just thought that none of us were going to."

"That doesn't seem right to him does it?" Sasuke asked still looking at the woods.

"I should've done more." Sakura said tightly holding herself.

"What did…"

"If I had been there I would've been able to help him long enough for you to show up." Sakura whispered. "It's not me making myself feel bad Sasuke, it's just a fact. If I had helped Tobio might still be alive, and we'd be in that forest just like everyone else." She picked up a small rock and held it tightly in her hand.

"But we aren't." Sasuke replied. "We can't become obsessed with what ifs. This is reality Sakura, whether we like it or not people die." He shook his head. He didn't want the conversation to become this hostile.

Sakura threw the rock and it slammed into the chain link fence in front of them. "I see why Kakashi Sensei likes you better."

"What?"

"You two are the same." Sakura's face showed no emotion. "Don't think I haven't seen the two of you at that monument. I'm not mad or anything, I'm just not like either of you. Tobio was the first person I've ever known that died. Neither of you can say the same, I mean Kakashi's father died when he was so young. And your brother…" She paused as she felt the air grow tense. "My point is…"

"You don't think you've got what it takes." Sasuke finished.

"Yeah." Sakura replied as silence hung in the air around them.

"Where is Anko?" One of the examiners asked the duo.

"She went for lunch." Sasuke replied, trying to contain his frustration at being interrupted.

"Where?" The chunin asked. The fear was carved onto his face.

XXXX

"This better be good." Anko said as she was led into the middle of the forest.

"Look." Sasuke said standing beside a massive hole in the ground. Sakura was standing away from it with a pale look on her face.

Anko stormed over to look at the hole. She was assuming it would be something stupid that a kid had done out of boredom. She was wrong, her stomach dropped, her heart started to race and her hands got clammy. "No." She looked over to one of the Chunin. "Tell Lord Hokage about this now!" She screamed.

"Should we stop the test?" He replied stiffly.

"If we do he'll know we're onto him." She said sniffing the air. "Now!" She screamed. The Chunin didn't hesitate and was already moving through the trees.

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"I'm going into the forest." Anko replied checking that she had her ninja tools. "Don't let anyone else into the forest unless they're Jonin or Anbu."

"We're going with you!" Sasuke snapped. "If whatever this is has you this scared you're going to need backup."

"That's what the Jonin and Anbu are for." Anko replied. "Stay behind, that's an order." She narrowed her eyes at the Uchiha.

Sasuke grit his teeth as Anko ran back towards the Forest of Death. "Sasuke, what are we gonna do?"

The Uchiha didn't respond and instead just started running. Sakura felt her chest tighten but followed behind him as well.


	13. Snake in the Grass

Sasuke stepped from tree to tree as he followed the path he knew Anko took. His Sharingan was able to let him see the slight divits in the trees caused by her feet. "Keep up." He glanced back at Sakura.

"I am." Her face was hard as stone. She didn't like the look on Anko's face, but she was a ninja, she had to persevere.

Sasuke stopped running and grabbed Sakura pinning her to a tree. The girl froze in fear as Sasuke watched the area around them. He backed away from the girl. "We can't let any of the other Genin know. They might panic and turn on each other."

"Who was it?" Sakura looked where Sasuke was looking.

"That loudmouth from Rain." Sasuke looked again for Anko's trail. "Damn, I lost it." He slammed his fist on the tree.

"What are you two doing in here?" The Grass Ninja Sasuke had talked to asked.

"Don't worry about it." Sasuke replied. "Keep going with your test, we're just helping the proctor make sure no one is cheating." Sakura's hand latched onto Sasuke's sleeve. "What?"

Sakura was looking up at the girl was a look of fear in her eyes. "Sasuke, that girl was in the ditch."

Sasuke whipped his head around before the woman let out a haunting laugh. Her long tongue reached up and knocked off the hat she was wearing. "I almost wasted the trip dear Sasuke." The girl said with a leering smile. Sasuke put his arm in front of Sakura and glared with his Sharingan raging. "Those eyes." The girl licked her lips. "Just like Itachi's."

Sasuke was visibly shocked but his hands flew through the signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" The flames erupted from his mouth like a roar, engulfing the tree in front of him.

"My, that's quite the temper you have there." The Grass ninja purred. "But you're body, it's so exquisite!" She was now standing directly beside Sasuke. "Your eyes can't see everything dear Sasuke." Her hand moved faster than Sasuke could react to. His only option was to watch it approach his face before the impact hurled him away.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed before she felt an iron grip rest on her shoulder.

"Now child, stay right here, and I think I'll let you live." The girl smiled down at the pinkette.

It wasn't just a smile though. Sakura felt her knees go weak and she fell to the ground. She wasn't able to break the stare. She couldn't remember a moment in her life when she was this afraid. Her entire being was screaming to run, but her body refused to move. "That's a good girl." Sakura felt the weight of a hand rest on her head.

"Don't touch her!" Sasuke screamed bursting through the trees with a kunai drawn in each hand. The girl smiled as she leapt into the air and Sasuke landed where she was. "Are you alright?" Sasuke looked at the quivering Sakura before gritting his teeth and looking up at the sneering enemy. He had a plan, but putting it into motion wasn't going to be easy.

"Show me what you've become Sasuke." The woman said before tilting her head to the side and dodging a thrown kunai.

"Fine." Sasuke ran up the tree in front of him and just before he got in range of the enemy he jumped off of the tree. "Gotta get that freak away from Sakura." He said to himself. He resisted the urge to smile when he saw his opponent had given chase. He reached out and laced a bit of ninja wire onto a branch and swung in place. His feet collided with the monstrous enemy, hurling them back to earth. The Uchiha grimaced when she landed on a branch with a mocking smile.

"I had hoped for more."

"Fine." Sasuke leapt down to the same branch and started his attack anew. His fists moved through the katas he had spent days and nights practicing. It felt almost like his body was moving on its own as his head tilted to the side to dodge a punch. He bent down and swept his legs.

The woman glared at Sasuke as she jumped over his punch and grabbed onto his head, and in a single motion spun all the way around and threw him back at the tree trunk. She stalked over to him as she licked her lips. "I've been looking forward to this day for years." Her neck started to stretch in a sickening way. The sound of popping bones echoed through the forest, but none had heard it. Save the young Sakura. The fear in her chest hadn't faded, and now she was about to watch another one of her teammates die, all while she did nothing.

She tightly shut her eyes, in a desperate attempt to wake up from the nightmare she was trapped inside of. Only when she shut her eyes she just saw Tobio's lifeless body laying on the ground. "If I had done something." She whispered to herself as tears fell from her eyes.

Sasuke could feel his head swimming as the woman stalked closer to him. Her neck was reaching closer and closer towards him. And just as two fanglike teeth were about to sink into his neck a blur of pink burst into his view. "Don't you touch my teammate!" Sakura screamed as he fist impact the woman's face knocking her off balance and causing her to fall from the tree. Sakura turned to see a still dazed Sasuke, "Get up Sasuke! We have to run!"

Sasuke pushed himself back to reality and saw the look on Sakura's face. She was terrified, yet she was still right beside him. He looked up and saw the woman had already leapt back towards them. She was about to stab Sakura with a sword. "Get down!" Sasuke screamed as he kicked Sakura's legs out from under her.

The pinkette slammed into the tree branch as their enemy flew harmlessly overhead. "You took my prize, you're going to die for that!" As she slammed into another tree her hands moved in her blur as she bit her thumb and slammed her palm onto the tree trunk. In an explosion of smoke a massive snake charged ahead at the genin. The woman laughed madly as the snake soared through the air.

It was too late for Sasuke to react, he saw the snake but his muscles weren't fast enough. He glanced at Sakura, she still hadn't seen the snake. He saw someone land in front of them and as the snake got closer it came to a sudden stop tossing dust into the air.

Heavy breathing was heard before a chuckle. "What's the matter, scaredy cat?"

Sasuke looked up and saw the boy from Rain was holding the snake back. His black hair glimmering in the sparse sunlight the made its way through the trees. "How did you?"

"You!" The woman sneered.

"Orochimaru." The boy laughed. "Shh, just leave."

"I agree." Came Anko's voice as she landed beside Sasuke and glared at the snake summoner.

"Orochimaru?" Sakura asked. She knew who he was, he was one of the Legendary Sanin. The only criminal that was more wanted by the Leaf was Itachi Uchiha.

"Looks like you lost." The boy smiled up at the disguised man.

"Never!" Orochimaru roared as he threw a smoke bomb onto the ground.

Sasuke covered his mouth to avoid breathing in the smoke. He saw it only for a moment out of the corner of his eye before he felt teeth sink into his neck. He screamed as he fell to the ground. Anko waved her hand to disperse the smoke and Orochimaru was already gone.

Sasuke clutched onto his neck as he screamed from the pain that tore through his entire body. "Gah!" He screamed as he would've sworn his blood was boiling.

Anko slid in front of him and checked his neck. "Damn it!" She screamed. "We need to get him to the tower!" She screamed at Sakura. She looked at the black haired genin who nervously smiled at her. "If you follow me, you fail." Without another word she picked Sasuke up in her arms and dashed away with Sakura following behind her.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked as they jumped from tree to tree.

"Kakashi is at the tower. He's the only person in the village who knows how to seal this." She looked over at Sasuke's neck and saw that cursed mark. The one that shamed her to this day.


	14. What You Already Possess

Anko burst into the room all of the Jonin senseis were standing in. "Kakashi!" She screamed.

"Anko?" Kakashi's eyes went wide, a split second later he noticed the bundle in her arms and ran towards her. "What happened?"

Anko was struggling to breathe while a winded Sakura stood behind her panting. "Orochimaru…" Sakura said between breaths. With that name alone it felt like the entire room had gotten colder.

"Sakura, what did you just say?" Kakashi sputtered. Instead of a reply Anko pulled back Sasuke's collar to show his newly acquired curse mark. "There's other rooms this way." Kakashi said as he led the Tokubetsu Jonin, and the Genin to another room. "Genma, take my spot." Kakashi shouted, not leaving any room for arguments.

Sakura shut the door to the room. She was still trying to catch her breath, she was covered in sweat and dirt and she just noticed the acheing throb in her fist. She glanced down and could see that the color was all wrong, where it used to be fleshy pink, it was now starting to turn a dark purple. She had to ignore the pain for now while Kakashi Sensei made sure Sasuke was alright.

"Why was Sasuke there?" The Jonin glared at Anko.

"I told them both to stay behind." Anko argued. "Ask her."

Sakura put her hand behind her back as the eyes turned to look her way. "Sasuke wanted to help, so I went with him."

Kakashi knew that his students were taking his lessons to heart, but they put themselves in one of the worst situations they could've possibly ended up in. "Next time a superior gives you an order, you follow it." His rage was focused on Sakura and she took a step back. "Find a medic for that hand." He turned his attention back to Sasuke. "Make sure you get all healed up and wait for me in the large chambers."

They waited for Sakura to leave the room before Anko spoke up. "You should've seen them Kakashi. Even against Orochimaru, this kid was something else. But if it weren't for the other two, he'd be dead."

"Two?" Kakashi asked raising an eyebrow.

"Pinky, and that boy from Rain. That kid is super human. Stopped a summoned snake with brute force." Anko looked closely at Sasuke's curse mark. "We've got time before the others start showing up, you're gonna want to work on sealing this."

"I know." Kakashi said picking the boy up. "Where can I perform the ceremony?"

"There's an antechamber that no one uses. I'll show you." She said walking Kakashi towards the door.

XXXX

Kakashi laid Sasuke on the ground and started to trace out the intricate markings. He heard Sasuke groan and start to move. "Stay still." He gently rested his ungloved hand on the boy's bare shoulder. "There's a marking on your shoulder, and I'm about to seal it."

"That snake bastard." Sasuke groaned in pain.

"None of us are fans." Anko interjected.

"What does this marking do?" Sasuke slowly sat up and rested his head on his knee.

"Makes you strong, very strong." Kakashi said and matched eyes with Sasuke who turned to look at him. "But it's all for whatever Orochimaru wants, whenever you use that power it's always safe to assume he wants you to use it." Kakashi continued through his brush strokes. "So as your superior, I'm forbidding you from using it?"

"What if…"

"Even then." Kakashi cut him off. "Trust me, it won't be worth losing yourself Sasuke."

"People who use that power become different." Anko said as she narrowed her eyes at the boy. "They become disgusting wretches of their former selves."

"How do you know?" Sasuke asked.

Rather than reply Anko grabbed the collar of her jacket and pushed it to the side to reveal she had a matching seal on her shoulder. "Most call him Orochimaru of the Sanin, I just call him sensei." She put the collar of her jacket back in place. "So trust me when I tell you, you don't want anything to do with that freak."

"We're ready." Kakashi said standing back up. "This might hurt." He said as he pressed his palm onto the curse mark and started pumping chakra into it. The written symbols on the ground all started to move towards Sasuke and then crawl onto his body. Sasuke grit his teeth as he felt another layer of chakra cover his entire body. "When you wake back up, I'm going to need to talk to you and Sakura about what happened?"

"When I…" Sasuke trailed off as his body went limp and he passed out on the cold, hard ground.

"So you can do seals now?" Came the slithering voice from the shadows.

Both ninjas turned on their heels with a kunai at the ready. "How did you get in here?" Anko asked.

"We never got to have our little reunion Anko." Orochimaru held his hands out. "Do you want to give your old sensei a hug?" His long tongue licked his lips.

"I'd rather just kill you." Anko glared.

"What do you want with Sasuke?" Kakashi interrupted.

Orochimaru looked closely at Kakashi and smiled. "What you already possess." He chuckled his snake chuckle. "I remember when your precious Minato Sensei turned in the report. Obito Uchiha, killed in action. Rin Nohara surgically transplanted his Sharingan into you. In a way Kakashi, you acted as my first test subject. If you had fared better, I would already possess that power."

"What are you talking about?" The Hatake sneered.

"That is of no concern to you." The snake waved his hand. "Just make sure you take great care of Dear Sasuke for when I'm ready to take him in."

"So that's it?" Anko snapped.

"Jealous?" Orochimaru asked as he put his hands in his pockets. The two in front of him were strong, but he was well aware of the number of people that could rightfully challenge him, and neither of them were on that list. "For now though I have other matters to attend to. Give my best to Sasuke, and tell that little girl that was with him," he rubbed his cheek, "She's got quite the right hook." And with that he disappeared into the shadows.

XXXX

Sakura waited in the main room with the massive statue in it. A few of the other senseis were standing around and talking with one another. She saw the senseis she knew her comrades worked under. Might Gai, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kurenai Yuhi. She could also see a man from Sand that had a piece of cloth hiding half of his face. There was also a green haired man with what she would've sworn was an umbrella. He was wearing a rain headband and all of the other senseis were purposely avoiding him.

Her hand was tightly bandaged and she could feel some of the healing jutsus had made it somewhat better, but not a whole lot. The massive doors on one side creaked and she could barely see a team of three genin make their way in. It was the three from Sand, the hooded boy, the tall fan user, and the other boy. Just looking at him terrified her, it was like when she looked at Orochimaru, the same feeling deep in her gut. They silently walked onto the balcony opposite of her and stood there in silence.

After a few minutes the doors creaked open again and this time only a single ninja came through. "Where are the others?" The Rain sensei asked.

"Calm down Aoi." The Black Haired boy from before waved him off. "If they were worth the effort they wouldn't've let me take the scrolls." He grinned at his sensei.

She saw the sensei had whispered something to the boy who waved him off before he made eye contact with the pinkette. He walked up the steps towards Sakura who was trying to avoid his gaze. "How's your friend?" The boy asked as he leaned on the railing beside her.

"Sasuke is fine." Sakura replied.

"Sasuke." He said to himself as a grin crossed his face.

"What about him?" Sakura glared.

"I was hoping he'd be in these exams. The last loyal Uchiha, who wouldn't want to take him on?"

"Well we're sorry to disappoint." Sakura chided as she started to walk away.

"What did I say?" He grabbed Sakura's arm to get her to turn to look at him. "I'm just making friendly conversation."

"Our villages aren't exactly friends, I don't see why we should be." Sakura yanked her arm free and walked away from the boy.

"My name's Menma by the way!"


	15. Beginning of the Preliminaries

After many long, boring hours Sakura was surrounded by other genin who had all made it through the exam. "What are you doing her billboard brow?"

"Not now Ino." Sakura leaned on the wall and rested her eyes.

"Leave her alone Ino." Shikamaru groaned. He saw the wounds on her body, and especially the cast on her arm, whatever her reason for being there it was valid.

"Where's Sasuke?" Choji asked looking around causing Sakura to flinch at the mention of her teammate, a motion that was not missed by Shikamaru.

"There he is!" Ino shouted as she pointed at the Uchiha who slowly walked into the room alongside Kakashi.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted as she ran towards her teammate and wrapped her arms around him.

The Uchiha was stunned for a moment. "I'm fine Sakura." He said shaking the confusion out of his head. His hand gently patted her on the shoulder before he pushed her away, he was then surrounded by the other members of his graduating class.

"What the hell happened to you?" Kiba Inuzuka asked.

"It's nothing, I went into the forest when I wasn't supposed to, but I'm fine now." He half lied to the group earning a nod from Kakashi.

"And that's time." Kakashi said walking to the center of the room. He could tell just by looking around that there were far too many Genin to pass to the Third Stage. He groaned as he realized what he was going to have them do. "Since so many of you did so well, we're going to have to hold a preliminary, elimination round."

"What?" Menma shouted. "We all made it this far and fought through that forest, you're telling us now we have to fight one another?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." He glared at the blue eyed boy. "Your names will be chosen at random on who you'll be fighting. This is done partly to eliminate anyone who got through solely because of the abilities of their teammates. From here on out the exams are all individual. It doesn't matter how well your teammate does, if you lose your match, you're out." He looked around at all of the teams to make sure they understood what that meant. "So let's get started." He glanced up as an electronic counter scrolled through.

"Wait!" A boy shouted and raised his hand. "Like you said, some of us only made it this far because of our teammates. So I'm not even going to waste my time." He pushed his glasses closer to his face.

"I admire the honesty." Kakashi nodded to the Leaf Genin. "Kabuto Yakushi forfits!" He looked back up and saw the names that machine landed on. "Tenten Vs Temari. Everyone but those two please proceed to the waiting area." He gestured to both balconies as both girls made intense eye contact.

Sasuke trudged up the stairs, he had been told that once the prelims were finished he and Sakura were going to be taken to speak with Leaf intelligence so that they could give a report. "You alright?" He whispered to Sakura as he looked at her hand.

"Me?" Sakura asked with wide eyes. She followed Sasuke's gaze to her hand and let out a breath. "Yeah, I mean it hurts, but I'll be fine after a couple days. The medical ninjas are amazing." She smiled at her teammate as she looked down. Tenten was throwing countless weapons but none of them came even close to Temari. "How is she doing that?"

"Wind jutsus." Menma whispered causing Sakura to back away from the black haired boy. "Calm down pinky."

"Who's this?" Sasuke glared at the Rain Ninja.

"You must be Sasuke." Menma smiled brightly. "I've heard so much about you, a shame you aren't in these exams. Would've loved to test my own abilities against you." He turned his head as a loud crack rang through the arena and Tenten was laying on top of Temari's fan. "She's good, but it was a terrible matchup."

The medics came and pulled the unconscious Tenten away. "I will avenge you Tenten!" Lee shouted from his spot.

"Be quiet." Neji groaned. "Shouting about it, won't help you."

Kakashi turned to look at the next fight. "Shikamaru vs Kin." The white haired Jonin lazily said.

"What a drag." Shikamaru groaned.

"Kick her ass Shikamaru!" Ino screamed. "Show her what for!"

"That your cheerleader up there?" Kin asked with a devilish smile.

"Unfortunately." Shikamaru groaned. "Look, I don't like fighting girls, so why don't you just surrender so we can get on with our lives."

"Surrender?" Kin snapped. "Like I'd ever surrender against a brat like you!" She screamed as she threw a series of senbon.

"That Nara kid is gonna win." Menma whispered.

"What makes you say that?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"He's a Nara." Menma rationalized. "She's some nobody from Sound, they're so pointless their village was never even given a Tailed Beast." He watched closely as the shadow stretched across the room and bound the two to one another. "And the fight is already over." He rested his head on the rails. "I hope somebody here can atleast give me a good fight."

"Would you shut up?" Sasuke asked.

"Never have?" Menma grinned before the smack of Kin's head on the stone wall behind her. "Told you." He chuckled.

"Alright then." Kakashi groaned as the two fighters were either carried away, or walked towards their teammates. "Next we have…" He looked up at the sign. "Kiba Inuzuka Vs Menma of the Rain."

"Looks like it's my turn." The boy said as he jumped over the rail and rolled as he landed on the ground.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Sakura asked the Uchiha who had his Sharingan activated. "There's something about that guy."

"He's a jerk." Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "What of it?"

Sasuke said nothing and instead watched the two fighters take their stances. "So he gets to bring is puppy into the fight?" Menma asked with a cocky grin.

"The Inuzuka fight with their dogs. For Kiba, Akamaru is just like any other ninja tool." Kakashi mumbled.

"Yeah, so you better watch out!" Kiba shouted as he and Akamaru took their battle stances.

"Alright." Menma popped his shoulder muscles. "Guess I shouldn't go easy on you."

"If you did you'd lose!" Kiba shouted before taking his usual stance. "Fang over Fang!" He screamed as he and Akamaru both leapt into the air and started to spin in opposite directions.

"Interesting." Menma pointed out as his eyes followed the two fighters before they both turned on him.

"Water Clone Jutsu." Menma whispered before in a wave of mist dozens of the Genin ran in multiple directions.

Kiba skid to a halt and looked at the small army that was standing against him. "Sorry, but numbers won't save you against us."

"Oh yeah?" One of the clones asked as he walked over to Kiba while holding the puppy. "Looks like your partner is out of the fight. Surrender or I might just have to cross a few lines." The feral look in his eyes told Kiba that he wasn't joking.

Akamaru wimpered as his legs were pulled in different directions, not enough to hurt, but enough to prevent any kind of resistance.

Kiba reached into his pocket and pulled out a food pill and flicked it at Akamaru who caught the pill in his mouth. "You might want to let him go."

"Wha?" The clone asked before the dog's fur turned a dark red. His grip slipped and the hind legs slammed into his chest dispelling the clone back into a puddle of water.

"Told you." Kiba chuckled as he looked around at all the other clones who were watching. "What do you say we go ahead and win this Akamaru?" A short bark was all the confirmation he needed. "Human Beast Mimicry!" Kiba shouted and in a puff of smoke Kiba's fingers turned to claws, and his body bent down onto all fours. The shocking part was right beside him instead of Akamaru stood an exact lookalike for him.

Without warning Kiba burst forward, slamming his elbow into one of the clones, splashing himself with water. "It's only a matter of time before I find the real one!" He screamed as Akamaru did the same, also dousing himself in water.

Sasuke looked in shock at how fast Kiba was moving. "Has he gotten this strong in the few months since the academy?"

"Kiba is stronger than most people give him credit for. Why do people assume he is weak?" Shino asked as he looked closely at the fight. "Because he is all brawn and no intelligence."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Kakashi sensei is backing away from the fight." Hinata pointed out. "Look." She pointed at the Hatake who was now nearly against the wall as the Inuzuka continued to blast through the water clones.

"Why is he doing that?" Sakura asked herself. The Menma clones were being torn through like they were nothing. Even when they tried to fight back, Kiba was just faster and able to attack before hand.

"You're running out of clones!" The soaking wet Kiba screamed as his feet slid across the wettened floor.

"Yep." One of the clones smiled as Kiba's fist slammed into it.

"What?" Kiba asked.

"Lightning Release: Discharge." The Rain ninja said as he put one hand onto the puddles that covered the ground. Before Kiba could react, his entire body tensed up and refused to act, next thing he knew he felt his entire body scream in pain as the electricity coursed over the water on his body. Menma lifted his hand and Kiba collapsed onto the ground alongside Akamaru.

"Winner, Menma of the Rain." Kakashi said in a bored voice as he walked over to make sure Kiba was alright. "He'll be fine." He said to Kurenai who had already jumped beside the genin. "The shocks were just enough to knock him out, the burns will heal in a day or two." He looked up at Menma who grinned back at him before walking back up to the stands.

After a few minutes the medics had cleared the area and cleaned the water off of the fighting area. "I wouldn't've thought of that." Sasuke pointed out.

"Don't sweat it, not everyone is as awesome as me." Menma said as he patted Sasuke on the shoulder. "I'm sure you've got your own tricks up your sleeves. I mean how else are you going to kill him."

Sasuke was about to respond when Kakashi shouted the next set of combatants. By the time Sasuke had regained focus Menma was already on the opposite balcony watching the fights. But with the Sharingan he could see the quick glances the boy was making at the red-haired boy from Sand.

"Don't let him get to you." Sakura whispered. "We aren't in the exams, so if we tried to do something it could cause an incident. Last thing we want is Hanzo the Salamander banging down our doors."

"Hanzo?" Shino asked. "Sakura, did you not read the most recent bingo book?" The bug user asked as he pulled one of the books out of his jacket. "Hanzo the Salamander was killed."

"Who could've done that?" Sakura said in stunned shock. "Not even the Three Sanin were able to defeat him."

"There are mixed reports, the only people who would know for sure, live in the Rain village." Shino turned his head to look over at the black haired boy and his green haired sensei.


	16. Persevere

"Neji Hyuga, Vs Hinata Hyuga." Kakashi groaned. Out of all the potential fights, this was the one he wanted to see the least. He was well aware of his rival's student, and his hatred towards the main branch. And just from looking at her, Hinata was not someone that could be called strong. In fact her being a ninja, seemed to only be happening because she had not other options in life. It was that or live her life as breeding stock for the Byakugan.

The two white eyed ninjas stood across from one another. Both of them had hair that fell to their midback, Neji's hair was a thick brown, while Hinata's was a luscious color that could almost be described as blue. "You might as well forfeit now."

"I know." Hinata shook her head.

"Then why don't you?" Neji crossed his arms. "Is it out of some ideal that it is your duty to rise through the ninja ranks? Or is it some attempt at slighting me?"

"That's not what it…"

"Just turn around, and stand by your sensei Hinata." Neji narrowed his eyes. "With me it won't be like fighting Lady Hanabi. I won't hold back in this situation, and even here your father could not punish me for beating you. Turn around so I don't have to hurt you."

Hinata held her hands tightly together and started to feel an overwhelming sense of emptiness fill her chest. The only thing that kept her knees from collapsing were the last words she heard before leaving home that day. "I'm routing for you!" She knew it was her little sister that said it, and she also heard the child get hushed for her loud outburst.

"I can't give up." Hinata shook her head again trying to fight the tears.

"Then I cannot hold back." Neji said as he took his stance and Hinata did the same.

"You may begin." Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Both of them had great control of their movements. And it was clear that even thought Neji was the superior fighter, Hinata would easily beat any of the girls from her own class; his own kunoichi being among them.

They seemed to dance around one another's attacks. To the common observer neither was receiving any serious injuries. Sasuke on the other hand watched the fight intently. He hadn't seen Neji in action until this moment, and now he knew that the Hyuga was indeed advanced. If another year of training was able to bring him to that level, how much farther would Sasuke go training under Kakashi. "She's losing." He whispered just loud enough for Sakura to hear.

"Really? How can you tell?" She whispered back.

"He's slowly cutting off her chakra points." Sasuke looked closely at their movements and how Hinata's had slowed down. "It's how the Byakugan works, I can see movements perfectly clear and remember things perfectly using my Sharingan. The Hyuuga can see through walls and even people in every direction around them. Not to mention they can perfectly see the chakra points inside of someone's bodies. Because of that they developed a style of combat designed to lock off those chakra points. Even though they're both using that style, Neji is just better at it."

Neji grunted as he thrusted his arm forward into Hinata's chest causing her to gasp and blood to come up from her mouth. "This is your last warning Hinata, if you continue this way you'll be carried out of here just like your teammate." He couldn't hold back the smile that graced his lips.

Kakashi was really starting to hope that Hinata would back out of the fight, at this point she was just going to get hurt. Too many of her chakra points had been blocked for her to really fight back.

"I can't." Hinata said between pained breaths.

Neji nodded his head in response and his palms moved in a blur of motion. In response Hinata's hands moved as well, few being able to catch every movement that was made. Sasuke could see that every few jabs Neji was able to land a blow. His eyes widened when Hinata's hand actually contacted Neji's shoulder but it was a feint. He dropped low causing her to fall off balance and directly into his waiting palm. He threw his arm forward and Hinata flew back, the chakra points in her stomach completely blocked.

Neji watched closely as Hinata forced her body up, he almost showed shock at the determination in her eyes. "I won't warn you again." Neji's stance was ironclad. He stood with the conviction of a man on a mission, and even some of the Jonin in the room were impressed. However, nearly all of them hated to watch the fight, if you could even call it that. Kurenai was gripping onto the hand rails tightly, fire burning behind her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Gai said about to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me." The Genjutsu mistress hissed.

"Kakashi sensei should call the fight." Ino said louder than she intended.

The white haired jonin agreed with her. But if Hinata was willing to keep going, there was nothing he would do. If he stopped the fight now she wouldn't get hurt, but the one moment she acted with any sense of pride in herself would be ruined. And if he let the fight go on Hinata would keep her pride, but run the risk of dangerously hurting herself. If his mask was not in place everyone would see the deep-seated frown on his face.

"You've brought this on yourself." Neji said just loud enough for Hinata to hear before he lunged forward.

"Keep fighting!" Came a scream from the stands.

As if a light was turned on Hinata's hands deflected Neji's attack before she put her fist into a ball and slammed it into his jaw. She didn't have the chakra left to use the gentle fist, but she could still try to fight.

Half of the people looked in shock at Neji who was pushed back by a normal punch, and the other half looked over at Sasuke who was glaring at Neji. "If you've come this far, it would be stupid to just give up!" He shook his head, stunned with his own outburst.

Menma smiled at Sasuke and turned his attention back to the Hyuuga girl. "Guess some of these Leaf bastards aren't total wastes like our leader says."

"The good ones are far and few between."

"That's right, you're from here aren't you Aoi sensei?"

"Just watch, you might have to fight one of them."

Neji shrugged his shoulders, he was used to getting hit harder by Lee, but he just wasn't expecting Hinata to throw a basic punch. He took a moment to glare at Sasuke who was watching the fight intently.

"That's enough." Kakashi said walking between the two Hyuuga fighters.

"What?" Neji asked in shock. "You're just ending the fight because she's from the Main Branch aren't you?" He screamed.

"No, I'm not." Kakashi growled at the genin before turning to look at Hinata. The light in her eyes was gone and with close examination it was clear that she had worn herself to exhaustion. "Hinata Hyuuga has lost consciousness, Neji Hyuuga is the winner."

Just as soon as he said it Kurenai was in the ring, scooping Hinata up in her arms. "She needs a medic!" She screamed as a group of medical ninja rushed to the two.

Neji said nothing as he walked past them but he made brief eye contact with Kurenai who was glaring daggers at him.

Kakashi took a breath before he turned to see the next round of fighters go.

"Rock Lee, and Gaara of the Sand." Kakashi read.

"It's finally my turn!" Lee screamed. His tone would suggest that the last fight that was seen didn't even happen. "Gai Sensei, I will do my best!"

"Go Lee!" Gai gave his signature thumbs up and toothy smile.

Lee wasted no time to leap from the railings and land on the ground and smile at his straight faced opponent.

Sasuke watched as the boy from Rain watched Gaara closely. Almost as if he was sizing him up personally. "Hey Sakura, what do you know about him?" He pointed at Gaara who just stared at Lee who was preaching about youth.

"Nothing." Sakura replied. "While we do have a cease fire with the Sand, we wouldn't exactly call them allies. We all still keep secrets from one another. Plus that's just a genin, very few of our rank are worth taking notice of to other villages. Why?"

"His eyes." Sasuke stared at the sand ninja. "They're the same as his."

Lee ran forward and leapt into the air. "Leaf Hurricane!" He screamed as his leg spun in the air, only to slam into a wall of sand that seemed to fly on its own. Lee spun again in the air, this time bringing his fist down only to impact another wall of sand. "What is this?" He asked himself before he backed away and was followed by waves of sand.

"What?" Sakura asked in shock.

"The sand is moving on its own." Sasuke pointed out. His Sharingan still active. "There's no chakra between him and the sand, it's just moving to protect him. What kind of jutsu is that?"

Lee sidestepped the sand and charged ahead again, this time with a kunai in hand. He slashed in hopes that the kunai would cut through the sand. It did, but by the time he did his swing had lost all of its force. He would pull back and try to do the same thing only for more sand to block the attack once again.

Lee grit his teeth as he started to back away from a moving wall of sand. With each jump the sand got closer and closer until it was right on top of him.

The sand slammed onto the ground and most of the people in the room had expected that to be the end of the fight until they heard Lee's sandals land on top of the massive statue on the other side of the room.

"Lee, take them off!" Gai shouted while pointing at his student.

"But you said…"

"I know what I said! This time I'm making an exception!"

"Right Gai sensei!" Lee screamed as he pulled his orange leg warmers out of the way to reveal the leg weights. He lifted them off of his legs and dropped them to the ground.

"There's no way that will make a difference." Menma whispered before they landed on the ground in a loud crash.

"What about now?" Aoi asked.

"Did I say otherwise?"

Lee leapt into the air and appeared right behind Gaara who turned his head around just in time to see the sand had already blocked Lee's attack. Lee disappeared once again and was striking faster than anyone but Sasuke and Gai could see. Even Kakashi was considering lifting his headband so he could use his Sharingan to watch.

Gaara's head continued to whip around as he tried to watch Lee's attacks. He could hear mother screaming at him. She wanted his blood, and she wanted it now. Just before Gaara was about to reach his arm out to command the sand himself Lee's feet collided with the back of his head.

Temari looked on in shock and fear. She had seen what Gaara had done to the people who just annoyed Gaara. She didn't want to imagine what he would do to the person who actually hit him.

Lee backed away as he saw Gaara lift his head back up. The look of insanity wasn't missed by the Taijutsu student. He felt his heart quiver at the sight but hardened himself, this wasn't the time to lose his nerve.

Gaara threw his hands forward and a torrent of sand moved after Lee who ducked under one of the waves of sand, and ran around the other. There was no more sand by Gaara, this was his chance to win.

He kicked Gaara into the air and in the split second before he jumped into the air he undid the binding on his arm bandages.

Gaara slammed into the ground and felt himself get lifted up by the sand. He glared ahead at Lee who took a breath.

"Lee, push yourself!" Gai shouted.

Without a word Lee screamed and his skin started to turn a blood red.

"That look in his eyes." Kankuro said getting Menma's attention.

"What about it?" The Rain ninja asked.

"He's awakened the demon."

Temari's eyes widened in shock at what Kankuro had just said, but refused to act on it. Maybe the Rain ninja would just assume that Kankuro was speaking metaporically.

"Really?" Menma asked as he watched the fight closely.

Gaara's teeth were tightly clenched as he felt his own blood begin to boil. He didn't care where he was, he didn't care about the exams, and he certainly didn't care about the mission. All he cared about was killing the man who struck him.

Lee moved once again, this time was even faster. Even Sasuke's eyes couldn't track the genin's movements. Gaara on the other hand, he knew exactly where Lee was going to be striking from next.

He reached his arm out and the sand was already in place before Lee was. The second the Green Beast extended his arm he was already caught.

Gaara crushed Lee's arm in an instant causing Lee to scream in pain.

Lee pulled his arm back and saw the bleeding mess that it was but his opponent wasn't done yet. Sand swirled all around him. It was clear to Lee that this wasn't just some preliminary anymore, his opponent was going for the kill.

"Call the match." Sasuke whispered.

"He won't do that." Gai said as he felt his blood boiling. "Kakashi understands that Lee is also fighting to prove himself. Lee had no ninjutsu, that's why he focuses all his time and energy on his taijutsu. Kakashi knows this, and has seen how much Lee wants to prove himself, so until one of them can't go on, or one of them cries uncle, Kakashi won't end the fight."

"This is suicide." Sakura said as she covered her mouth. Lee was on the defensive now, each move he made was already planned for by Gaara. The sand seemed to move before Lee did. Even with all of his speed and training, he wasn't able to get past this gifted ninja. The pain in his arm was finally starting to catch up to him. He couldn't move it, but it definitely moved whenever he did. It felt like having a noodle on his arm, and that noodle was crushing him.

"Mother wants your blood." Gaara said loud enough for everyone in the room to hear it. He and Lee both stopped moving.

Lee's skin faded back to its normal pale as each of the gates inside of him shut one at a time. His breathing became labored, and his arm felt like the heaviest thing he had ever felt. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and his heart was ready to burst out of his chest.

"Die, die, die!" Gaara screamed as sand rushed ahead at Lee.

"Gah!" Lee screamed as with one final burst of energy he hurled himself around the sand and back towards Gaara who's mad face hadn't faded.

The two were mere inches from one another. Lee had his one good arm pulled back, ready to deliver what he knew was going to be his final strike.

Gaara didn't move at all. And why should he? He had absolutely nothing to worry about.

Just as Lee was about to extend his arm he felt something wrap around his leg and crush it. He screamed out in pain before the sand holding his leg threw him forward like a piece of trash.

Lee slammed onto the ground, he couldn't feel his leg, and his arm still felt destroyed. He tried using his other arm to force himself back to his feet but found his left leg wouldn't move.

Using his good arm and good leg he tried to force himself back up, but he just looked pathetic and he knew it.

"Call the fight!" Kankuro screamed from the stands. He had already watched his brother kill people during the exams, but he didn't want everyone else to see it.

Sasuke felt his chest tighten, he didn't want to see Lee dead. He wasn't close to him, but he didn't want to see this. He gripped the railing in front of him and prepared to throw himself onto the other side to save Lee.

Before he could however he was thrown back from the railing and Gai jumped in himself. He scooped Lee in his arms and glared at the Sand Ninja. "As his sensei, I forfeit this match."

"The winner is Gaara of the Sand!" Kakashi shouted, hoping that Gaara would stop his attempts.

The room was ghostly silent, no one moved. No one wanted to be the one to break the silence. Gaara was still staring at Lee who was barely holding onto his own consciousness. "Fine." The boy said as his senses came back to him. He would have another chance to kill the man who struck him.

Kakashi let out a breath as more medical ninjas came out to inspect Lee.

Menma watched Gaara closely and for a brief moment they made eye contact. "Keep it cool." Aoi elbowed the genin. "Now isn't the time."

"I know." Menma whispered back looking back towards Kakashi. "But soon." He grinned.

 _ **AN: Thank you everyone for reading this far. I have loved writing this story. Like in Team Obito, I'm able to do something new with characters I already love so much. Please keep the reviews coming, I love getting each one; even the ones that are harsh and criticize me. It's the only way I'm going to grow as a writer.**_


	17. You Aren't Ready

The rest of the fights were boring compared to the ones that had come before them. At the end Sasuke looked at all of the genin who were going onto the next phase of the exams. Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, Menma, the three ninjas from Sand, Dosu from Sound, and Yoroi from the Leaf. "All of you who have made it this far, I must congratulate you on your victories." The third Hokage smiled at the genin in front of him. "In one month all of you will be competing in the third and final stage of the exams. It will be a tournament." He waited for the outburst but none ever came. "Some of you may be wondering how it's fair that only one winner may become Chunin and I am going to save you all a lot of stress. The winner is not even guaranteed to be promoted to Chunin."

A few eyes in the room raised so he kept talking. "That being said, even someone who is eliminated in the first round has a chance at being promoted."

"Then why should we want to win?" Neji asked.

"Because the farther you go in the tournament the better chance you have at proving your worth to the judges." Hiruzen smiled.

Sasuke watched from the balcony with Sakura beside him. "So they're being graded on their performance separately from the outcome of the fight."

"So by that logic, even though Lee lost his fight, if he had done that during the final stage he might've been promoted." Sakura thought aloud.

"Sounds about right." Sasuke replied as all of the genin were being funneled out of the room.

Kakashi came up the steps and looked at his team. "We're going to the Hokage's office." His voice didn't portray any emotions. "How are you feeling Sasuke?"

"Fine, I suppose." The Uchiha rubbed the spot where the curse mark rested. "What are we going to do about this?"

"That's what we're going to the Hokage to find out." He looked over as Anko came up the steps behind him.

"You all ready to go?" She asked glancing over at Sasuke who looked up at her curiously.

"We are." Kakashi nodded his head before he lead his team out of the arena.

XXXX

Sasuke looked around him as not only was the Hokage in the room, but so were his two advisors and a man he didn't recognize. He was covered in bandages and had an arm pulled up in a sling. "Sasuke, I want you to tell me everything." The Hokage's words made Sasuke shiver slightly.

"During the Second stage of the exams Sakura and I were directed towards a group of bodies. We then told the Chunin who showed us to find Anko Sensei right away." Sasuke breathed deeply as he looked around and saw that all eyes were on him. He hated being the center of attention like this, but right now he didn't have the luxury of retreating into himself. "Anko Sensei knew that the cause was Orochimaru and went into the forest in an attempt to stop him from hurting any of the genin inside. She told Sakura and I to stay behind."

"And you ignored that order?" Koharu asked.

"I did." Sasuke nodded his head. "Anko Sensei went into the forest alone and I made the decision to follow after her."

"And you went along with him?" Hamaru asked looking at Sakura.

"I did." Sakura said quietly.

"Speak up girl." The bandaged man shouted.

"I said, I did, sir." Sakura said louder this time, but her voice still cracked.

"After we went into the village we were met by a ninja we thought to be from Grass." Sasuke brought the attention off of his quivering teammate. "It turned out to be Orochimaru in disguise. I was his goal, at least that's what we believe right now."

"And he inflicted Sasuke with the curse mark." Anko added. That was not a detail she wanted to be forgotten.

"I am aware." The Hokage said quietly. "Sasuke, I have to warn you about that marking. As Anko can attest, it is a curse to bear. It may give you a great deal of power, but it will warp your mind. If you use it, it is only because Orochimaru wants you to use it."

"Do we know Orochimaru's interest in Sasuke?" Hamura asked.

"We believe it has something to do with him wanting to possess the Sharingan." Kakashi pointed out.

"We cannot let the last Sharingan be lost to someone like him!" Koharu shouted. "It would be best to revoke Sasuke's ninja status and put him under protective custody. When the time comes he will father children and they shall rekindle the Sharingan in the village."

Sasuke felt his chest sink, he wasn't going to be a ninja anymore. And all because of what some maniac did to him. "What a waste." The bandaged man spat. "Sasuke Uchiha has made great strides in his abilities. Revoking his rank would be a mistake."

"I agree." Hiruzen added glancing at his former rival. It was a rare thing for the two of them to agree on something. "Do we know the location of Orochimaru?"

"Just before I got there a kid from Rain stopped the fighting. And once Orochimaru saw me he left." Anko added.

"A child stopped Orochimaru?" Koharu asked. "I'm having a hard time believing that some boy was capable of stopping one of the Sanin from doing anything."

"Menma from the Rain Village." Sasuke pointed out. "He's going to the Third Stage of the Chunin exams."

"The boy who defeated the Inuzuka?" Hiruzen asked before turning to the wall. "Bring the Rain ninja and his sensei to me."

"Yes sir." An Anbu with spiky black hair appeared from nowhere before leaping out of the window.

XXXX

After a few minutes there was a knock from the door before Menma walked into the room with his green haired sensei behind him. "Lord Hokage?" The boy asked.

"We're in the right place." Aoi spoke up as he looked at all of the people in the room he remembered.

Hiruzen glared at the Jonin in front of him but knew that there was nothing to gain. "Menma, I was told that you aided Sasuke and Sakura while inside the Forest of Death. Why?"

Menma glanced over and looked at Sakura with a grin on his face. "Honestly, I did it because she's cute."

Sakura along with most of the people in the room blanked at that. Danzo and Aoi were the only ones who didn't visibly react. "So you challenged one of the most wanted criminals in the world, just because a girl was cute?" Danzo asked.

"Hey, I never said I was the best at making decisions." Menma shrugged with a chuckle.

"That being said, I must thank you on behalf of the Leaf." Hiruzen replied.

"I don't need it." Menma replied simply. "I'm just curious as to what you guys are going to be doing about the madman on the loose?" He grinned as everyone glared at the boy. "I mean, he is the only member of the Sanin that is anywhere near here. That means the only person around who can stop him is yourself, Lord Hokage."

"The Leaf has the matter under control." The bandaged man glowered.

"Well I suppose if Danzo Shimura says it's true, then it must be true." He grin never leaving his face. "Was there anything else you needed me for?" He smiled at the Hokage.

"No. Thank you again."

"Don't bother." Menma said turning around and winking at Sakura.

The pinkette blushed slightly at the attention and let out a breath when she heard the door close behind her. "So what now Lord Hokage?" Kakashi asked.

The man thought for a minute before looking back up at Kakashi. "For the time being we will proceed as planned. You will remain the leader of your team Kakashi. Should the situation change further, we will reevaluate then."

Team 7 left the room leaving only the village elders and the Hokage. "Sasuke should be given to me to train." Danzo argued.

"I forbid it." Hiruzen replied. "The boy is already harboring hatred in his heart. What he needs now is human connections, not more training. Especially if Orochimaru has something planned for him."

"So you plan to do nothing?"

"I didn't say that." Hiruzen replied as he started to pen a letter.

XXXX

Sasuke came down the steps and looked over at his teammates. "So what are we going to do for the next month?"

Kakashi took a breath. "I suppose for now we go on like before." He turned to look over at Anko. "Thanks for helping them."

"No problem." Anko smiled. "You'll just owe me dinner some time."

"I don't know if I could afford that." Kakashi replied while scratching his nose. Sakura elbowed him in the side. "I suppose we could figure something out."

"Sounds good." Her gaze turned to Sasuke. "Remember what you've been told. That curse mark is just that, a curse. Try not to even think about it, it will only cause you and others pain." She started to walk away. She would've smiled, but she knew it wasn't the right time. Sasuke was in for hell, and he would just have to persevere through it.

XXXX

Sasuke was walking home. Sakura and Kakashi had already made it to their own homes and his was just a bit farther away. He came up to his stoop when he heard someone clear their throat. "Looks like I guessed right."

"What do you want?" Sasuke said without turning to look at who it was.

"Wow, aren't you aggressive." The other boy chuckled. "I was just coming to tell you to be careful."

"You wouldn't be the first." Sasuke still didn't turn. He didn't have to, he knew exactly who it was. "Is that all you came for?"

"I suppose." The boy chuckled as he scratched the bottom of his nose. "I was just mildly curious as to what kind of student Kakashi Hatake would have." Sasuke felt his chakra spike as his Sharingan activated. He whipped his head around and glared at the black-haired boy in front of him. "There's the scary eyes." Menma laughed. "They look just like his."

Sasuke took a step closer to Menma. "You know Itachi?"

"Maybe." Menma smiled. "Sadly I'm not supposed to be talking about any of that. I'll tell you this though. Your brother made Orochimaru look like a child, you aren't ready for Itachi, and chances are you never will be. So just stay here in your precious village and enjoy this peace while you still can."

"Is that a…" Sasuke stopped talking as the Menma in front of him collapsed into a puddle on the ground leaving the seething Uchiha alone in the darkness.


	18. Boop

About a week had passed since the end of the Chunin exams and for the most part life had returned to normal. He and his team would do the occasional mission, but nothing exciting seemed to happen. Most of the other people he knew were off training with their senseis so nearly all of the Genin missions fell to them to handle. If he had to catch that cat one more time he might have to just kill it.

After a long day of boring delivery missions he started to notice his own stench. What hurt the most was that the rest of his team seemed to be keeping their distance from him, even Sakura.

He came out of the bathhouse, his hair still dripping when he heard an awkward giggle. "What the?" He looked around the corner to see a man with a long white ponytail looking at the fence in front of him. Upon activating his Sharingan Sasuke could see that the man was looking through the small gaps in the fence. He grimaced knowing that on the other side of the fence was the woman's bathing area. "Is there something you need?" The young ninja asked the man.

"Beat it kid." The old man waved him off. "I'm busy."

"You can't do that!" Sasuke argued.

"If I don't get caught then it won't be a problem." He turned his head around to glare at Sasuke. The red lines on his face trailing down his cheeks and up to his eyes.

"Guess that makes sense." Sasuke thought aloud.

"Now beat it, you're ruining my research."

Sasuke groaned and thought about how he'd feel if someone he cared about was on the other side of that fence. Or if someone was peaking on him when he didn't want them to. "Get out of here you old pervert!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Pervert?" Came the questioning voice from the other side of the fence.

"I might have to kill you for this kid." The old man glared at the boy.

A group of women burst out of the front door with towels wrapped around their bodies. "There he is!" One of them screamed.

Sasuke smiled before turning and seeing that the old man had already disappeared. "What?" He shouted before seeing that the women were coming after him. He turned on his heel and leapt onto the nearest building and ran up the side of it. He ran from building to building, luckily it looked like none of the women were ninjas so they weren't able to keep up with him.

He landed in an alleyway and bent over trying to catch his breath. "Hey, you're pretty quick kid." The old man from before said with a smile.

"Screw, you." Sasuke said between labored breaths.

"Sorry, you aren't my type." The man crossed his arms and looked Sasuke up and down. "So you're the one huh."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked looking at the man before being grabbed and his arm pulled back so he couldn't do anything.

"This holding seal should work, but it's based on you. It isn't a permanent solution." The man said to himself as he traced his fingers over the curse mark.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke screamed as his arm was released and the main looked at him with level eyes.

"Do you know who I am?" The man's eyes were stern and held no levity.

"Some old creep that man handles kids?" Sasuke straightened out his shirt.

"My name is Jiraiya of the Sanin."

Sasuke's eyes lit up for a moment. "So you're just like that snake bastard?" He asked narrowing his eyes at the man and activating his Sharingan in case there was a threat.

"I am nothing like Orochimaru." Jiraiya's hard eyes stared back.

"Sorry." Sasuke took a breath and stepped back. Intellectually he knew that Jiraiya was still loyal to the Leaf.

"He really did a number on ya, didn't he kid?" The Toad Sage said as he stood to his feet. "So you got Kakashi for a sensei? Guess that makes sense for the old man to put you with him."

"I suppose." Sasuke backed away. "Don't be peaking anymore, it's weird."

"Typical Uchiha."

"What was that?" Sasuke turned his head to look over his shoulder at the man. He had a grin on his face that just pissed Sasuke off.

"Just a thought." The man said as he walked past Sasuke. He stopped after a moment. "Kakashi told me I wouldn't exactly be able to talk to you like I would a normal kid, hell I don't even know how to talk like a normal kid so I'll just talk to you like a ninja. Orochimaru is the closest thing in this world to a demon."

"Not the closest." Sasuke narrowed his eyes and pushed past the man.

Jiraiya frowned at the look of coldness in the boy's eyes. He had been told that was just who Sasuke was, and the people he wasn't like that were few and far between. "He reminds me of you." Jiraiya whispered.

Kakashi landed in the alley beside the Toad Sage. "It worries me because looking back it's almost like I lost time of my life."

"And now you can help him recover." Jiraiya patted the Copy Ninja on the back.

"Are you going to take him away?" Kakashi asked.

The Toad Sage lowered his head and walked towards the bright street in front of them. "For now let's just focus on the present." He turned around with his trademark grin. "How about we get a drink."

"Pass." Kakashi turned on his heel and walked the other way earning a scowl from Jiraiya.

XXXX

Sasuke walked through the village with his hands in his pockets. He watched all of the people around him just going about their lives. He was so absorbed in what he'd lost, and everyone else either didn't know or didn't care.

He shook those thoughts out of his head. It would be ridiculous to assume everyone else felt the same grief that the people around them felt. He glanced up and saw a familiar face perched on one of the rooftops. The smile seemed to unnerve him in a way that nothing else did. To the casual observer it looked like a genuine smile a friend would give. His lips were pulled back and showing all of his teeth. His eyes were even tightly shut. But Sasuke felt something different, almost as if that smile itself was a mask that the boy was wearing at all times.

Menma of the Rain was watching the comings and goings of everyone in the village. He was well aware of the Anbu that was watching him watch the other people. He was half tempted to give a wave back, but that would only cause more problems for him then he needed. His smile faded though when he looked down and saw Sasuke Uchiha looking up at him. He was tempted to jump down and talk to him when someone else came and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Hmm?" He wondered aloud. He knew he'd recognize that face mask anywhere. Kakashi Hatake was whispering something to Sasuke. He'd heard all about Kakashi, but seeing him again made something in his chest tighten. He had never met the man personally, but he already knew he hated him.

Sasuke and Kakashi turned and walked the other way. The Uchiha didn't so much as turn around for one last glance at Menma. His fists tightened and his smile came back in force as he jumped down from the building and followed after the two ninjas.

XXXX

"Why did you call us both out here?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi put his book in his pocket and looked at his students. "The genin that are going onto the third stage are all training vigorously, and I thought that just because the two of you aren't competing, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't train." He smiled under his mask at the fresh hell he was prepared to put his two students into.

"Alright." Sasuke said as he put his hands in his pockets. He already wasn't planning on sitting and doing nothing during the month. "What did you have in mind?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes until they landed on Sakura. "You can come out now." He said as he mentally prepared himself for combat.

"Sorry, I was just curious." Came the jovial voice of Menma who walked around a set of rocks and smiled at Team Kakashi. "Plus I got to see Sakura again." He directed his smiled only at her.

Sakura backed away from the gaze and noticed Sasuke had stepped in front of her. "We're training, so you need to leave."

"Don't be that way Sasuke." Menma said as he patted the Uchiha on the shoulder and walked towards Kakashi. "So you're the famous Copy Ninja?" He asked with a grin. "You must've picked up all kinds of tricks along the way." He cocked his head to the side. "But that Sharingan of yours was probably the most important."

"What are you getting at kid?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing at all." He said putting his hands in the air. "Just making a point that something like that is the only reason you're anything really. I mean sure, you must have some degree of talent, but that Sharingan is the only thing that makes you special."

"Get out of here." Sasuke said as he grabbed Menma by the arm and pulled him away.

"Easy there Sasuke." Menma said with a laugh. "If you wanted time alone with me, maybe tomorrow."

Sasuke froze and released Menma. The two boys made direct eye contact before Menma poked him in the forehead. "Boop." He said before bursting into laughter.

Sasuke was stunned. He was feeling so many emotions at once, it almost didn't even feel human to him.

What caused a sliver of panic to form inside Kakashi was when he saw the curse mark on Sasuke's shoulder start to spread. "You need to go." He was between the two genin in an instant. He was staring down at him with all the killing intent he could muster. But this kid didn't even flinch.

"I suppose you're right." Menma put his hands in the air with a smile as he started to walk away. "Hope I see you in the stands Sakura."

"Sasuke, you need to calm down." Sakura put her hands on the Uchiha's shoulders. She gasped when she looked into his eyes and saw his Sharingan was active.

"Let go of me." The Curse Mark slithered over his face.

"No." Kakashi said as he clamped his hand down onto Sasuke. "You need to calm down."

"What's wrong Sasuke?" Sakura asked. She only remembered seeing him this angry once, and that was when Tobio died.

Through gritted teeth Sasuke's two tomoe Sharingan stared up at Kakashi. "He knows Itachi."


	19. It Begins

"So Kakashi sensei is overseeing this part of the exam too?" Sakura asked as her and Sasuke worked their way through the massive stadium.

"Yeah." Was Sasuke's reply earning a sad look from Sakura who started to fiddle with her bangs. "There's some seats over there." He said pointing to where Ino and Choji were sitting.

"You want to sit with them?" Sakura asked, her look of sadness replaced with bewilderment.

"I want to sit." Sasuke replied coldly. "If it's with them, then maybe you can talk to them instead of me." He turned on his heel and walked towards the two members of Team Ten.

Sakura's lip trembled for a moment. She thought that she was finally getting through to Sasuke, but outbursts like that were becoming more and more common with him. "Hey it's Sasuke and Sakura!" Choji shouted with a wave before a hand was put in his face and he slid onto another seat.

"Sasuke, sit with me!" Ino shouted.

The Uchiha ignored her and sat in the open seat beside Choji leaving the only open seat between the Akimichi and the Yamanaka. Sakura took the hint and sat beside her old friend and rival. "So has Kakashi Sensei shown up yet?" Sakura asked quietly.

"He's over there." Choji pointed into the arena where Kakashi was standing with his hands in his pockets. Even at that distance Sakura could tell he was resisting the urge to look into his pocket and pull out his favorite book.

"Who fights first?" Sasuke asked. His blood was boiling at the idea of seeing that bastard from Rain again. He just hated that he didn't get to be the one in there fighting him.

"They haven't said yet." Ino huffed before pointing up to the Kage booth. "Lord Hokage was waiting for Lord Kazekage before they announced the matchups."

"Have all the fighters shown up?" Sasuke asked as he rested his chin on his laced hands.

"The only one who didn't was that one guy from Sound." Ino said glancing at her teammate.

"Good." Sasuke said mostly to himself as he looked down at the stadium.

In the Kage booth Hiruzen was smiling at the Kazekage. "It's been some time, hasn't it Kazekage? It must fill you with pride to watch your own children down there. I remember when I got to watch my own children in the exams."

"Yes, I suppose this has been a long time coming." Raza said as he sat in the chair beside the Hokage's. "I'm interested to see how far Gaara has come in his training."

"Then I think it's time we begin." The old man smiled as he stood to his feet and held his hands in the air. The entire crowd silenced, and all eyes fell on him. "I want to personally thank each and every one of you for coming today from far and wide. I have longed for the day when peace can be achieved between villages, and I see the Chunin exams as the perfect place to grow that trust. With that I am proud to announce our fighters for the Exams!" He nodded down to Kakashi who groaned to himself.

"The Third stage of the exams will be a tournament between the remaining contestants!" Kakashi said using the sound amplification jutsu. "The fight will proceed as follows, Menma of the Rain, vs Neji Hyuuga of the Leaf." A murmuring was heard among the crowd before Kakashi talked again. "Shikamaru Nara of the Leaf against Temari of the Sand." Some people were worried about seeing children from two rival nations battle against one another. "Shino Aburame of the Leaf, against Kankuro of the Sand." Kakashi waited a moment. "Gaara of the Sand against Yoroi of the Leaf. And since Dosu of the Sound has not shown up in time, he will be disqualified from the third stage." A few moans of disappointment filled the air. Not because of the fighter specifically, but because that was just another fight that just was not going to happen.

"Now I want to call to the arena the first two fighters. Menma and Neji." He looked over as both of them dropped from different parts of the arena and walked towards the center. The animalistic smile was etched perfectly onto Menma's face. He already was expecting to win this fight, it wasn't even a matter of if for him. He saw what the Hyuuga was capable of, and he was not impressed. None of these genin were up to his standards anyway.

"You ready white eye?" Menma asked with a smirk.

"Fate has already decreed me the victor." Was Neji's response.

"Fate?" Menma asked with a laugh. "Trust me friend, if Fate had any role to play I wouldn't be here." He glanced over at Kakashi who was eyeing him skeptically. The black haired genin moaned, "Let's get this over with."

Neji nodded his head and took his stance. As Kakashi jumped back to let the two fight one another he activated his Byakugan. He was about to gasp before Menma was already directly in front of him with a pulled back fist. He threw both palms up to block the strike earning a grin from his opponent. "You're…"

Menma's foot collided with Neji's jaw knocking him back. "Don't ruin the surprise." Menma whispered. "Besides, that doesn't matter right now anyway, let's just give these people a good show." He landed on the ground with his normal cocky grin.

Neji wiped the dirt off of his chin. He could tell that kick was only meant to get him off balance if Menma had been wanting to injure him it would've been much worse. For now he would ignore the obvious illusion cast over the genin.

Sasuke watched fervently as the two exchanged blows. Neji's attacks were quick and deliberate, while Menma seemed to be capable of handling each and every one. "That Neji sure is something." Ino said with a chuckle. "He's almost as good as you Sasuke."

The Uchiha decided to ignore the blonde, but he knew that if they had fought a month ago Neji would've defeated him easily. He was trained by people to be exceptional, all of Sasuke's training didn't mean as much if he didn't have someone around to guide him.

"The prodigy of the Hyuga clan has to be able to do better than this." Menma said as he batted Neji's hand away. He lunged forward but Neji did the same. The two genin came face to face for a brief moment before they both slipped past one another and slid to a halt.

Neji was breathing heavy. He wasn't expecting the fight to be drawn out this long. With his Byakugan he could see that most of the people in the stands were totally captivated by their fight. And looking closely he could tell that, that was what Menma was aiming for. "I don't have any interest in participating in this circus of yours."

Menma cracked his neck to the side. "Fine, and here I was giving you a chance in this fight." He lunged forward quicker than most other genin could move.

Neji bent his legs and held his arm out. This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for. "Palm Rotation!" He shouted and began to spin. Menma was already in the air and wasn't able to stop himself in time. He slammed into the defensive attack and felt multiple chakra points slam shut. Neji came to a stop and looked at his opponent. He finally had the chance to gain some ground so he charged forward.

Menma grit his teeth and ducked under the barrage of palms before he scooped some of the dirt off the ground and threw it in Neji's eyes. "Damn!" Neji screamed before he felt a strong kick to the stomach that pushed him away.

He opened his eyes just in time to see Menma directly in front of him with a fist cocked back. He tried to activate his Byakugan but the strain hurt. He felt the fist collide with his face and knock his chin down. Without the help of his eyes he thrusted his palm forward and felt it hit something solid.

Menma coughed up the blood that spilled out of his throat as he backed away from Neji. He had actually been trying to end the fight there, but he got carried away. "Damn you Hyuuga, now we're both in pain." He put his good arm over his chest while he tried to catch his breath. He knew that everyone in the arena hated his guts for pulling that trick with the sand, but he wasn't here to be liked.

Neji could already feel the swelling on the side of his face. He noticed Menma was taking a combat stance once again. The fight wasn't over and he needed to push himself farther.

"That was low!" Ino shouted from her seat.

"We're ninja." Sasuke interrupted. "Fighting low comes with the territory." The other three all looked at him in shock. He was studying the fight closely, and hadn't said much else during the battle.

He narrowed his eyes at the way that Menma fought. There was something that just reminded him of the way the other Uchiha he had seen fight. Even though he had only used taijutsu the entire fight, he still moved with more skill than any genin had any right to.

"Seems like a good time to wrap this up." Menma said as he and Neji glared at one another. The Rain Ninjas hands moved in a blur. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He screamed.

Neji's eyes widened as the massive fireball hurtled towards himself. He tried to start spinning, but he was engulfed in the flames to fast and felt his clothes and skin start to burn.

Kakashi walked over to the burned Neji and checked closely. "Menma from the Rain is the winner." Most of the crowd booed at the genin as he walked away from the arena and back towards his sitting area.

Sasuke was already standing and glaring down at Menma who looked up at him with a grin. "Sasuke, what's wrong?" Sakura asked as she reached out to touch him, but before she could he had already turned and started running.

Menma chuckled to himself as he walked past the next fighter. He recognized her, she was the Sand girl that used the big fan. He made a mental note about how dangerous she could be, but she still wasn't even close to the most dangerous fighter in the exams.

He heard the running feet behind him and came to a stop. "Who are you?" Sasuke screamed.

"I already told you." Menma said as he turned around with his animalistic grin. "My name is Menma, and I'm from the Hidden Rain."

"Bull shit." Sasuke spat.

"Sasuke, you can't be here!" Sakura shouted as she rounded the corner and saw the two black haired boys glaring at one another.

"Tell me who you really are!" Sasuke screamed. "You know Itachi, and you fight like an Uchiha."

"So what?" Menma asked. "You're going to let your brother still control your life? I would've thought your hatred of him would make you want nothing to do with him; but here you are, still chasing after him like you used to do." Sasuke grit his teeth and his Sharingan burst to life. "You aren't the only one out here with goals Sasuke. You better head back now. You don't want to miss the fights." He turned on his heel and started to walk away.

Sasuke felt the curse mark start to burn on his shoulder and he clutched it tightly. "Sasuke." Sakura said as she put her hand on his shoulder. "You need to tell me about Itachi." She said quietly. Hearing his brother's name Sasuke's head snapped and looked at Sakura. She looked scared, but she wasn't scared of him. He couldn't explain it, why was she scared? "Please." She plead.

XXXX

Menma came back to his booth and sat comfortably on a chair. The fight below him was mildly interesting. The Nara kid was using the shadows to get the upper hand against the Wind user. But she had figured out how to get around his ability. This fight was fascinating on an analytical level, but he always preferred the loud and climactic fights.

He felt the chakra build inside of him and grit his teeth. His chakra points opened again and he let out a breath. Doing that always hurt, and he always felt like shit afterwards. "Damn." He rested his head on the wall near him and closed his eyes. He still had a few fights left before he needed to worry about anything. In fact there was a chance that fight wouldn't even matter in the long run.

XXXX

Sakura looked closely at Sasuke who was staring blankly at the wall. "I know about what happened that night Sasuke." Sakura started it off. "You don't need to talk about any of that. But he's the person you want to kill, isn't he?"

Sasuke grit his teeth. "Yes." Was his only response as he lowered his head and hid his eyes with his hair.

"And Menma knows Itachi?" Sakura asked.

"He has to." Sasuke responded. "He knows way too much, and he fights like an Uchiha."

"Could there be a chance that he is an Uchiha?" Sakura asked quickly. "I mean other villages have tried to steal children with powerful bloodline traits before. Maybe he was stolen by Rain."

"No." Sasuke shook his head. "If he was Rain would never have sent him here. It would've been too much of a risk. There's something else."

Sakura pulled her knees close to herself. "Right now he's a guest in the village. If anything happened Rain could see it as an act of war."

Sasuke grit his teeth and stood up. "We should get back. If we're gone too long that friend of yours might start to think something is wrong."

"Yeah." Sakura said as she stood up and followed Sasuke back to their seats. Something was wrong though, and she didn't know what she could do to help.

XXXX

"I give up." Shikamaru shouted to the stadium. It seemed like the entire stadium gasped in shock. "I'm out of chakra, there's no point in going on. Besides, going any farther would've been a total drag."

"Temari of the Sand wins." Kakashi announced as the two walked away. "Our next two competitors will be Kankuro of the Sand, and Shino Aburame."

"Actually, I think I'll just forfeit!" Kankuro shouted. "After what I've seen so far, I don't stand a chance."

Shino glared at his would be opponent, but accepted that the tournament would go on and he'd move to the next match.

"Fine." Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "Gaara and Yoroi." Kakashi was just ready to call it a day at this point. He wasn't used to having this many people look at him.

The two ninjas looked at one another from their starting spots. "Go easy on me, alright." Yoroi whispered loud enough for just Gaara to hear. "We're on the same side, right?"

"Do it now." The Kazekage said to himself in the Kage booth.

"Getting excited to watch your son?" Hiruzen asked with a smile. Deep down he knew something was wrong, but he had no way of proving it.

"Mother doesn't care about you." Gaara said. He held his hand up and sand started to come out of his gourd.

Yoroi tried to back up but found he had already backed up all the way to the edge of the arena. He felt the fear sink in, and his knees started to wobble. Gaara's eyes looked like they weren't even looking at him. Without thinking the Leaf ninja ran forward and slashed his hand at a wall of the sand. He pulled the chakra out of it and managed to get through and touch the Sand ninja.

"Gah!" Gaara wailed in pain as he felt chakra ripped out of his body.

"What the hell is that?" Yoroi screamed in pain. He pulled his arm back and it was covered in a sickly red chakra that burned his skin. "What the hell are you?" He screamed.

Gaara said nothing before sand surrounded Yoroi and he clenched his fist killing the ninja.

Kakashi was about to move forward when he felt the genjutsu settle over the arena. "Release." He said holding his hand up. He looked in front of him and saw Gaara throw his arm up and sand latched onto his body. "What is…" He froze, he knew that feeling.

"What is going…" Hiruzen froze when he saw the look that Raza was giving him. "Orochimaru." He shouted.

"Sarutobi Sensei." The Sannin said with a glint in his eye.

XXXX

Sasuke and Sakura both released the genjutsu and came up to the viewing area where chaos had already begun. They could hear the battles outside of the arena as well. "What's going on?" Sakura asked in shock. She turned around and saw someone right on top of them with a drawn kunai.

"Dynamic Entry!" Came a shout before a green blur burst into their vision and the enemy ninja was thrown the other direction. "Sakura, Sasuke." Gai said with a glint in his smile. "Things are getting hectic around here, you'd best report to Kakashi and see what it is he wants the two of you to do. I will stay here and provide aid to the others."

"Right." Sakura nodded and started running towards Kakashi.

Sasuke hesitated for a slight moment before he followed as well.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Sakura shouted as she landed in the arena.

"Stay back!" Kakashi screamed and held his arm out.

"What's happening?" Sasuke asked. His Sharingan could see the chakra swelling around Gaara as his arms extended.

"You!" Gaara screamed when he looked at Sasuke.

Kakashi felt his chest tighten. He knew exactly what Gaara was, and it terrified him. He had two options, try to nullify a Tailed Beast right here, or have Sasuke lead it away from the Village; sacrificing the young boy to the monster. He glanced around quickly, and saw that Gaara was only one of the problems they were facing. The Kage booth was surrounded by some sort of barrier, and he could see snakes inside of the village towering over buildings. They couldn't afford another problem, especially when the Hokage was trapped.

Gaara lunged forward and Sasuke dove out of the way. He looked and saw that a Gaara's claw had cut Sakura's cheek. His eyes filled with anger. "I'm gonna lead him out of here!" He shouted to Kakashi who was stunned. "You two help everyone else!"

He turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could. He didn't even turn around to see if Gaara was following him. He knew he was though, "Kill, kill, kill!" Gaara screamed after the Uchiha who was running from building to building.

Kakashi blinked and looked at a terrified Sakura. "Sasuke can't do this alone." She said with conviction. "I'm going Sensei." She turned to look at him. Her green eyes shown with defiance, and confidence. Two things Kakashi had wanted to see in them since the moment he met her.

He took a breath. "Keep each other alive Sakura. This is an S rank mission, just like in the Land of Waves."


	20. Unlikely Trio

Sasuke glanced behind himself and for some reason Gaara was still chasing him. "We should lead him farther away." Sakura said as she kept in step with the Uchiha.

"Kakashi Sensei seemed to know what this is, we don't." He grit his teeth. "Our best chance is to run him around in hopes of exhausting him. He's using so much chakra right now that he'll reach his limit soon." He peaked behind himself and saw Gaara extend his arm forward. "Get down!" Sasuke screamed as knives of hardened sand flew over their heads.

Sakura groaned and looked up to see Sasuke pulling one of the knives out of his arm. "Sasuke!" She shouted.

"Keep running!" Sasuke screamed as he turned on his heel grabbing the Pinkette and pulling her ahead.

"You can't outrun me!" Gaara screamed.

Sakura quivered at the sound of that scream. It wasn't just bloodthirsty, it was animalistic. Gaara didn't just want to kill them, he needed to kill them. "We have to do something." She shook her head.

"What can we do?" Sasuke asked as he ran faster and faster. He had to trust that Sakura was going to be able to keep up with him. "We don't even know what he is!"

"Keep him busy!" Sakura shouted as she darted away from Sasuke. They only had one or two chances at the most for this to work. She knew that Sasuke had a better chance of keeping that thing busy, but she could still help.

Gaara turned his head to where Sakura went. Sasuke turned his head to see the look. "Over here!" He screamed as he threw a kunai at the monster that blocked the blade with its tail.

"Kill!" Gaara screamed so loud Sasuke was sure that it hurt the Sand Ninja to do it.

Sasuke landed on a branch breathing heavily. He didn't want to risk leading Gaara to wherever Sakura went, so he'd have to hold him here. He felt his leg shake in fear for a moment, but grit his teeth in resolve. Gaara landed on a branch above Sasuke and smiled down at the Uchiha. "Given up!" Gaara asked as he dropped down to the earth with a loud thud.

"No." Sasuke said as his hands moved in a blur and lightning cracked to life in his hand. The area filled with the sound of birds, but there were no birds. The only thing causing a sound was the jutsu in Sasuke's hand. "Chidori!" He screamed as he threw his arm back and ran forward.

Gaara's eyes widened, Sasuke was faster than he was before, but he still wasn't fast enough. Gaara's tail moved on its own and sharpened to a point in front of him. The Uchiha was going to impale himself on the tail and Gaara would be able to kill the other one.

Sasuke threw his arm forward. He saw the pointed tail but he was already too close to do anything about it. Just before his torso was gored he felt an impact on the side of his face that hurled him in the other direction. "Mine!" Came a familiar shout.

"You!" Gaara screamed as he pointed at the newcomer. "Mother wants your blood, mother will have your blood!"

Sasuke pushed himself back to his feet and looked to where Gaara was. He was staring down Menma who looked at him with the same confidence he looked at Neji with. "What are you doing here?" Sasuke moaned as he rubbed his cheek.

"My job." Menma replied before he leapt forward. He came face to face with Gaara for a split second before he jumped to the side as a barrage of sand hit where he would've been standing. His fist flew out but was stopped by another wall of sand.

Sasuke watched with shock on his face as he saw Menma fight Gaara. It was almost hypnotizing because neither was able to strike the other. Even with his Sharingan Sasuke wasn't able to see through all of Gaara's attacks, but Menma was able to do it, and he was just some Genin from Rain.

Sasuke's fists balled up, he was Uchiha. No one should be able to humiliate him this way. "No one!" He screamed as the black markings spread over his body and his hands moved in a blur again. "Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" He screamed as numerous fireballs burst from his mouth and moved towards Gaara and Menma.

Gaara put up a wall of sand in front of him and his eyes widened as he heard the birds again. "Chidori!" Came the same shout from before. The Sand Ninja watched as the sand in front of him burst through and Sasuke's hand was enveloped in lightning chakra. "This is the end of you!" The Uchiha screamed as he threw his hand forward.

Another smaller wall of sand was created in front of Sasuke. He was still able to break through it, but he lost almost all of his momentum, by the time he put his hand on Gaara's shoulder all he was able to do was draw a small amount of blood.

Gaara's eyes widened as he turned his head and saw the blood dripping off his arm. "Blood?" He gazed quizzically at the red liquid dripping down his arm. Had Sasuke cut himself on the sand? He winced as he felt some sensation on his shoulder. "My blood!" He screamed.

Sasuke backed away from the raging monster in front of him. "Any other ideas?" Menma asked landing beside the Uchiha.

"Leave!" Sasuke glared at the Rain Ninja. "This isn't your fight!"

"Actually it is." Menma replied evenly. "He's the only reason I'm here." He pointed at the raging Gaara who glared at them. "I don't give a shit about these exams, and neither does my Leader. I'm just here for him, so if you want to stop me go ahead and try." He took a step forward as he readjusted his headband.

Sasuke said nothing as he turned to look at Gaara. He knew that glare was for him alone. If he had to guess Gaara had even gone so far as to forget about Menma altogether. Sasuke stepped forward and took out a set of kunai in his hands.

XXXX

 _Sasuke crouched behind a tree. He watched with bated breath. Itachi was standing in the middle of a clearing with his eyes closed. He started a breath and leapt into the air. He turned in the air and held a set of kunai in his hands. He threw them all one after another._

 _Sasuke gasped as he saw some of the kunai collide with the others. He thought that Itachi made a mistake and those kunai weren't going to strike the targets. His eyes widened in stunned shock as he heard each one perfectly impact their target. The shocking part, even the one hidden behind the big rock had a kunai perfectly sunken into it. "How did you do that!" The little boy jumped from behind his tree._

 _Itachi looked closely at Sasuke with narrowed eyes._

 _XXXX_

Sasuke leapt into the air, the kunai held tightly in his hands. He knew exactly where his targets were. He had noticed them barely, but he was ready for this. One after another he threw the series of kunai. Each one hitting their target, and the final one heading in Gaara's direction.

The Sand Ninja grinned as the kunai landed harmlessly beside him. "You missed!" He screamed as he charged forward.

"I know." Sasuke grimaced.

Menma's eyes widened as he leapt into the air. He watched in shock as multiple tree logs flew through the air. Each suspended by a nearly invisible strand of ninja wire.

Gaara grimaced as he saw all of the logs heading in his direction, he leapt over the first one, only to have another right behind it. He felt the impact, but the sand protected it from hurting him. He ducked under another before a fourth descended onto him.

Sakura landed beside Sasuke, "There should've been five." Sakura pointed out.

Menma turned his head slightly and saw a kunai stuck in the tree and a strand of uncut rope beside it. He yanked the kunai free and cut the rope.

Gaara caught the log, his knees buckled from the weight. Even with his extra strength, it was heavy to hold. His eyes widened in shock as another log swung down towards him. He wasn't going to be fast enough to move with this heavy log, and if he dropped it to get out of the way, he'd still be too slow.

Sakura smiled as the fifth log hit Gaara perfectly, he flew back and dropped the fourth log on himself all at the same time. "We did it!" She shouted as Menma landed beside the members of Team Kakashi.

"Not yet." Menma said as he felt Gaara's chakra surging. Well calling it Gaara's chakra isn't entirely right either. "You two need to get out of here." He turned to look at them. "Things are about to get much worse."

The logs flew off of Gaara and revealed that the boy was almost completely covered in sand. Etched into the sand were purple lines of chakra that reminded Sasuke of the curse mark that was still extended over parts of his arm. "Kill, kill," Gaara whispered, "Kill!" The monster screeched before he charged forward. His arm fully extended and ending with a sharp claw.

"Now!" Menma screamed as he pushed both members of Team Kakashi to the side and leapt over the attacking Gaara.

"I can smell it on you!" Gaara screamed as he chased after Menma in the area. "Mother can smell it, she wants all of your blood!" It screeched as it swung its arm down towards Menma who grinned for a split second.

Sasuke and Sakura froze as they felt the waves of chakra escaping from Menma's body. "I can see it." Sasuke said in fear as he saw the red chakra seeping out of Menma's body.

Sakura looked in fear as she felt her stomach start to roll and her arms shook uncontrollably. "I'm going to enjoy this." Menma whispered as he held Gaara's arm. His black hair started to shift from the chakra.

He moved behind Gaara, at an animalistic pace. He slammed his fist into Gaara's back and heard the guttural scream escape the Sand Genin. "Sasuke!" Sakura screamed as she covered her head from the fear she felt in her chest.

Sasuke watched in shock, his Sharingan watched every movement Menma was making. His finger nails extended and dug into the sandy flesh that covered Gaara. Menma turned on his heel and hurled Gaara into a nearby tree.

The sand monster used his tail to break the fall. He looked up as Menma had already closed the distance between the two of them with his fist cocked back for a punch. "Die!" Gaara screamed as he threw his own fist forward.

Menma turned his body in midair and used Gaara's arm to vault over the attack and drive his foot into the Sand Ninja's face. Gaara was thrown back but he kept his feet planted onto the ground.

The instant Menma landed on the ground he was already charging forward. Sasuke couldn't believe how powerful Menma was. It felt like even Kakashi would have a hard time against him, maybe even… He pushed the thought out of his head as he watched a kid that was the same age as himself, go toe to toe with a monster.

He glanced over and saw Sakura cowering from the monster with her hands covering her head. Her eyes were shut tight as the chakra bathed the entire area in malice. He tried to walk over to his pink haired teammate, but his legs wouldn't move. He looked down to see if they were hurt and grimaced when he noticed they were perfectly fine. It was just like that night. He was too scared to move or do anything. If Menma wasn't there, he and Sakura would both be dead already. Even his new jutsu wasn't enough to do anything but cut Gaara. He banged his fist on the dirt in front of him.

He kept his eyes trained on Menma and Gaara though. The least he could do was learn from this fight. He couldn't match either of them in chakra, but he would still try.

Menma crossed his arms as Gaara punched and flung the Rain Ninja through a group of trees. The ninja pulled himself up from the splinters and looked through all of the wreckage at the grinning Sand Ninja.

XXXX

Kakashi was back to back with Gai. "We need to make sure the infirmary has been cleared!" Gai screamed over his shoulder.

"Lead the way." Kakashi said back as he blocked a thrown kunai with his own.

Gai moved quickly through the stadium with Kakashi directly behind him. They burst through the doors and saw Hiashi Hyuuga surrounded by a group of Sound Ninjas. Behind him was Neji who was struggling to sit up.

Before either of the Jonin could move to help Hiashi's hands already started to move. Each palm struck a vital chakra point and one by one they each fell to the ground. Gai ran past the disabled ninjas to help his student sit up. "He's…"

"Don't talk." Gai said to Neji who gripped Gai's jonin jacket with a death grip.

"He's using a henge." His hardened eyes looked at his sensei. "He's hiding…" His voice tapered off as he lost consciousness.

"I will take Neji somewhere safe." Hiashi said as he reached for the genin. Gai's hardened eyes dared the man to try and take him. "You two are needed elsewhere." Hiashi argued.

"Gai." Kakashi said with a stern voice. "We don't have time for this."

XXXX

Menma circled around Gaara and slammed his foot into the monster causing him to slide away again. "Enough!" Gaara screamed as the earth around him started to shake before sand hurled into the sky. Menma looked in awe at the now massive beast in front of him.

"Finally." He said as he leapt into the trees to look at the full form of the One Tailed monster in front of him.

Sasuke gasped in shock, the monster was just to the side, but looking closely he could see that Menma's eyes had turned bright red just like his own. "Is he?" He asked in shock. "Are you Uchiha?" He screamed at Menma who only grinned in response. He bent his knees and leapt into the air.

Menma quickly approached the sleeping Gaara that was protruding out of the monster's head. He came close to him with an arm pulled back but he felt a tremendous weight fall onto his body and force him back down to the ground.

He tried to lift his body but the sand continued to pour onto him. "Stupid little human!" A new voice bellowed from the monster in front of Sasuke. "Even with his help you can't beat me! How funny is that?" It screamed as it slammed another massive hand down where Menma was. His monstrous laugh was even heard in the village. Those that were able to see the monster shook in place as they remembered the beast that attacked twelve years ago. It felt so similar, and so different all at the same time.

Sasuke looked over and saw that tears were freely running down Sakura's face. And he'd be lying if he didn't feel petrified just like her. He moved towards her and started to pull her to safety. "Sasuke." She cried as she latched onto his arm and used him to pull herself to her feet. "I'm scared." She cried into his arm.

He wanted to confess that he felt the same way, but he couldn't will his mouth to move. The monster in front of him towered high over even the tallest trees and was probably at eye level with the Hokage monument. It let out a blood chilling roar that almost seemed like insane laughter. "Die, die, die!" It screamed as it continued to slam its fists down where Menma was laying.

"We have to do something." Sakura choked between tears. "He helped us, we can't just let him die like this."

"What can we do?" Sasuke looked up at the monster that didn't even acknowledge them.

"I don't know." Sakura confessed as she stood apart from Sasuke. Their silence was penetrated by the beast's hands slamming into the ground in rhythm. With each smash they would shake in place. Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up to the trees. "We're going to fight." She clenched her fists as the slams continued. "He's strong, we just need to give Menma a chance to get back up again."

"That's suicide." Sasuke said through clenched teeth.

"I'm doing it with or without you Sasuke." Sakura's bloodshot green eyes glared at him. He could still see the tear tracks running down her face and knew she was serious. Even if he did nothing, she would still try.

"Fine." Sasuke grit his teeth as the two of them jumped into the trees to try and get a bit higher. "When you see your chance, get Menma to safety." Sasuke said as he looked at the monster in front of him. "This is only going to work once."

Before Sakura could stop him, Sasuke was already running from branch to branch at a breakneck pace. He didn't look back, because right now if he did, he'd see another direction he could run, but then he'd be running away. And he wasn't going to do that, this time he would save someone.

He jumped off a tree and landed onto the monster's back. With his Sharingan he could already see tendrils of sand all converging onto him. If he did nothing they would kill him quickly. His hands moved at a blur and as he took his first step his hand was already covered in lightning chakra.

"What?" The monster looked over its shoulder at its back.

"Chidori!" Sasuke screamed as he ran upwards using his hand to slash away all of the sand in front of him until he felt it turn in place. "Now Sakura!" He screamed as he saw the massive hand coming towards himself. His legs moved faster than he ever had before. Even during his training with Kakashi he didn't push himself this hard. "Just a little more." He grit his teeth as the curse mark spread over his body. He felt the surge of power and leapt through the monster's fingers and landed on the other side and kept running towards the head.

He knew that a sleeping Gaara was protruding at the top. If he could deliver the killing blow, it would all be over. He screamed in pain as the curse mark started to bleed his own chakra. He jumped into the air and held his Chidori up. He locked his gaze onto Gaara and held his hand back to deliver the final blow.

"No!" Came a scream in front of him. He had just enough time to glance up and see someone in front of him. Menma was directly in front of him with his fist cocked back. He slammed it into Sasuke throwing him lower onto the Beast's back. And as the Rain Ninja landed he turned on his heel and sent a thundering punch into Gaara's sleeping head.

Gaara groaned in pain as he put his hand over his head and the sand all around them started to collapse. "No, I just got free!" The Sand Monster screamed as his sand body started to collapse back to the ground.

Sasuke felt himself start to fall to the ground when Menma caught him. The Uchiha glanced up, his Sharingan faded from lack of chakra, and he could've sworn that Menma's hair had changed color.

As the two landed on the ground Sasuke felt himself slipping out of consciousness.


	21. A New Mission

The light seemed brighter, than it usually was. Sasuke moaned as he put his hand over his head. "So you're finally up." He heard a familiar voice.

"Kakashi sensei?" He whispered. He couldn't remember his mouth ever being this dry. "Where am I?"

"You passed out Sasuke." The Jonin stood to his feet and closed his book at the same time.

"Where's Sakura?" Sasuke launched out of the bed looking around.

"Calm down." Kakashi lightly pushed Sasuke back into the bed. "She's already safe and sound at home. She only had a few minor injuries. You're the one that everyone was worried about."

"What happened?" Sasuke was looking at his hands as it all started to come back to him.

"When we all got to where you were you were already unconscious." Kakashi rubbed his nose lightly. "You pretty much saved the village from what Sakura tells me."

"No, I didn't." Sasuke sat up and pressed his back up against the wall.

"Exactly." Kakashi let out a breath. "The official story that the village is going with, is that the monster you fought was just a massive genjutsu."

"So no one can know." Sasuke lowered his head.

"I know." Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "Sakura knows. And that Rain ninja knows."

Sasuke's eyes shot open. "Where is he?" He looked directly at Kakashi who was shocked at the outburst. "Where is Menma?"

"He already returned to his village." Kakashi looked closely at his student. "Why?"

Sasuke looked closely at his hands and then back up at Kakashi. "Could, could there be other Uchiha out there?"

Kakashi's eye widened for a moment. "Other Uchiha, what are you talking about Sasuke?" He put his hand on Sasuke's forehead. "What makes you think that there could be more Uchiha out there?"

"His eyes." Sasuke whispered to himself.

Kakashi looked closely at his student before he glanced at the window. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, just wanted to pay the kid a visit." Jiraiya of the Sanin was sitting on the windowsill. "Did you tell him what happened yet?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke was pulled out of his funk and looked at both men in front of him.

Kakashi took a breath. "While everyone was fighting Orochimaru attacked the Hokage, and killed him."

"He what?" Sasuke shouted looking around. He put his hand on his neck and felt the small imprint from his curse mark.

"We think that was Orochimaru's main plan." Jiraiya said as he put both legs through the window and stood on the floor. He looked closely at the Uchiha to see what kind of reaction the boy would have. If Jiraiya were honest he'd be inclined to not trust Sasuke. He could see the look in the boy's eyes, it was the same look Orochimaru had all those years ago. Although, it was also the same look that Kakashi had, and Jiraiya knew damn well that if it weren't for Minato, Kakashi would not be the same man he is today.

Sasuke let out a breath. "So what now?"

"The funeral is tomorrow." Jiraiya crossed his arms. "It won't just be for Sarutobi Sensei though. A lot of people died during the attack."

"Has the council decided on a new Hokage yet?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.

"Old fools asked me to do it." The Sanin grumbled. "Told them no thank you." He shook his head. "So now I have to go and find the only person who fits the councils wishes."

"What are they?" Sasuke asked.

"They choose me only because I'm one of the Sanin."

"So that means…" Kakashi began.

"Yep, I gotta go find Tsunade." The smile was carved onto his face. This was not something that he had to do, in fact he was looking forward to it. He glanced over at Sasuke and took a breath. "I could use some company I suppose." He looked back at Kakashi. "Odds are, you'll be busy over the next few weeks Kakashi."

"Most likely." The Jonin nodded his head. He could already follow his line of thinking.

"You mind if I borrow this one once he's ready to go?" He pointed at Sasuke.

"I don't see why not." Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "Sakura and I can hold down the fort here in the village until the two of you make it back." He turned to look at the stunned Uchiha. "Will that be a problem Sasuke?"

"No." The Uchiha lowered his head and looked at his hands.

"Let's go for now." Jiraiya put his arm around Kakashi's shoulder. "The kid needs to get a bit more sleep, and I need a drink."

Sasuke sat there silently as the two men funneled out of the room. "I know what I saw." Sasuke whispered to himself as he looked at his hands. He could still hear the lightning crackling over his finger tips when he closed his eyes. For some reason Menma didn't want Gaara killed and Sasuke couldn't figure out why.

XXXX

Sasuke was let out of the hospital a little later that day. He walked home in silence and made it to his home with no trouble, and nobody bothering him.

He opened his door and slipped his shoes off like he had done hundreds of times before. He stepped out of the Genkan and into the rest of the house. He walked into his bedroom and fell onto the bed looking up at the ceiling. He let out a long breath. He sat back up and pulled his shirt off before putting it into a laundry basket. Unfortunatly he didn't have a change of clothes when he left the hospital so his clothes were all still filled with sand. "God, I hope I never see sand again." He mumbled as he dropped his shorts and put those with the shirt.

He grumbled as he turned the shower faucet on and washed the sand off of his body. He rested his head against the wall as water continued to pour down his shoulders. His breathing was becoming more and more rugged until he slid down to his knees and held his head. The weight of everything that had happened finally settling in.

The fear he felt while Gaara was chasing him. How he was convinced that he was going to die, and that the only thing he could successfully do was to make sure Sakura didn't. When he started to fight in earnest he abandoned any chance of ever walking away from the battlefield. All he was going to do was make sure that Sakura made it home.

Doing that though, would mean he gave up on ever finding and killing Itachi. He pounded his fist into the tile wall in front of him. "Damn it." He half said, half whispered. He didn't know what he wanted anymore. All he had wanted for years was to see Itachi dead, and now he was willing to give that all up for somebody else. Just some girl that he got put on a team with. Another one of those raving morons that would scream his name for no better reason that that he was in the room.

He banged his fist on the wall again. And yet he knew that even now he'd do the same thing for that loud mouth. He cared about her, and he didn't understand why.

XXXX

The next day Sasuke walked through the Hidden Leaf. He was wearing the traditional mourning robes of their village. He saw a familiar shine of pink hair in the distance. Sakura wasn't walking towards the grave yard, instead she was looking up at the falling rain. He walked past her without saying a word, and left her to her own devices.

"Sas…" Sakura started but stopped when she saw her teammate keep going. He didn't even look at her. She thought that they were friends, the least he could do is walk with her. She hung her head as she walked the long winding path to the village. She would occasionally see someone that she knew, but none of them were people she wanted to be around right now.

The entire funeral took place in front of the Hokage monument. And the entire village took the day to mourn the lost. Even with dozens of deaths being respected this day, the main one was Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Sasuke looked around the funeral and saw that the line to pay respects had already formed. And the row he was standing with began to shift to place flowers over the Hokage's grave. Another funeral that Sasuke would have to attend in his life. His face showed no emotion, and his body showed none either, he wouldn't even tell anyone what he was feeling. Sasuke Uchiha felt pain, pain from a deep place inside of him. Not really because of the death of the Hokage, he never really knew the man, but for the people around him. He could heard the wailing of a little boy who was being hugged by Iruka Sensei. Sasuke lowered his head, as the memories started to flood back.

He still showed no emotion as he placed the flower on the grave and walked back to where he was standing. The child screamed again and Sasuke's fist trembled. It was for the briefest moment, but it had happened. Nobody saw it, but Sasuke knew it happened. He didn't pity the boy, he didn't look down on him for showing his emotions, in fact he respected him for that. The child had no problem in showing his emotions, something Sasuke struggled with.

He came back to his spot in the line and the rest of the funeral went on. The boy seemed to be quieter than before. Sasuke glanced over and saw that the boy was gritting his teeth now. He had a familiar look in his eyes. One of anger, but more importantly, one of hatred. Something Sasuke knew too well.

XXXX

The next day Kakashi was standing with Asuma and Kurenai in front of a dango shop. "Missed you at the funeral Kakashi." Kurenai looked at the Jonin.

"I tried to make it, I just lost track of time." Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck trying to play it off as not a big deal.

"Obito?" Asuma asked earning as moment of shock from Hatake.

"Sorry I didn't make it." Kakashi made brief eye contact with Asuma.

"Don't sweat it." Asuma said as he put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

Kakashi looked into the shop and narrowed his eyes. "I'll see you guys tonight for poker." He looked into the shop at the two empty chairs and kept walking.

Asuma and Kurenai nodded their heads and watched the cyclops walk towards the river.

XXXX

Kurenai and Asuma landed in front of two men who were wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them. "Didn't think you'd ever show your face here again." Asuma pulled his two knives free and glared at the shorter of the two men. "So, why would someone as wanted as you come back here after what you did?"

"I don't like your attitude." The taller man said as he removed his hat and revealed his pale blue skin. His lips were pulled back showing rows of pointed teeth in his mouth. "You should know better than to come after us."

"Kisame." Kurenai said recognizing the man from the bingo books.

"Oh, are you a fan?" He kept his smile as he looked from one Leaf Jonin to the next.

"No." Kurenai replied as she put her hands together. "Ha." She said before disappearing into the ground.

Kisame smiled as he felt his entire body get absorbed into a tree, he glanced over to see that his partner was just as trapped as he was. The red eyed woman grew out of the tree and held a knife over their heads.

"Enough." The shorter man cut her off.

Kurenai snapped back to reality, she was standing out in the open, a kunai pressed to her throat and she was the one holding the blade.

"Kurenai!" Asuma shouted as he ripped the knife away from her.

Kisame burst out laughing. "What a way that would've been to go." He bellowed.

"That's enough Kisame." The shorter man said again. "We need to leave before more show up."

"Too late." Kakashi stabbed the shorter man in the back with a kunai. Kakashi gasped as his target disappeared and a murder of crows took his place. He jumped back before a swing from Kisame's bandaged weapon struck him. Kakashi flipped away from the danger and held his kunai at the ready. His eye was scanning the area for the other fighter. "Asuma!" He shouted as he threw his kunai past the other two jonin. A clang later and it fell to the ground along with a large hat.

Itachi Uchiha looked back at them. "We should be going Kisame."

"I'd rather kill these three first." The sword wielder spun the blade around as if it were a small stick. "The kid didn't even kill anyone."

"That's not our missions." Itachi replied, his Sharingan glaring at Kakashi who reached up to show his own Sharingan.

"Asuma, Kurenai, don't look into his eyes no matter what you do. Keep them shut!" He shouted as his hands moved quickly and his hands ignited with electricity. He launched himself forward with his Chidori in front of him.

Itachi narrowed his eyes as he made eye contact with Kakashi's Sharingan. The Hatake noticed briefly that Itachi's eyes looked different. "Tsukuyomi." The Uchiha whispered and the next thing Kakashi knew he was pinned to a cross with Itachi standing in front of him. Only he wasn't wearing his black robes, he was wearing his former Anbu attire. "This is my world." Itachi said as he unsheathed his sword and stuck it into Kakashi. "In here you will experience 72 hours of my torture."

Another Itachi appeared next to him and stabbed another sword into place. Kakashi screamed in pain as he felt the blood piling in his mouth. His screams stopped as the pain vanished. He looked down and the swords were gone and in the Itachi's hands, only now there were so many that he couldn't count them. Along with the multitude of Itachi's there were now many Kakashis all held up on crossed getting swords stabbed into them. The screams from his other selves rocked Kakashi's mind, they sounded just like his own screams of pain and convinced him he was being stabbed, that is until another sword went into his side.

XXXX

Sasuke had packed up the rest of his stuff and was walking up to the village gate. Jiraiya was already standing there, waiting. "C'mon kid, where have you been."

"Sorry." The Uchiha said with his hands in his pockets. "I'm used to Kakashi's lateness so I plan to leave everywhere late now."

"That's a terrible habit." The sage scratched the side of his head.

"Sasuke!" A shout came from around the corner causing the Uchiha to flinch.

Jiraiya looked over as a girl with pink hair ran around the corner. A wicked smile crossed the pervert's face. "I just wanted to say good luck on your mission." She was breathing heavily and standing away from her teammate.

Sasuke didn't turn around. "Thanks." And he started walking.

Jiraiya smiled at the young girl who's face fell and looked at the ground. He grit his teeth, he could tell that the girl was crushed, and it was the kid's fault. "I'll get him back safe and sound, don't you worry little lady."

"Thank you Lord Jiraiya." Sakura said as she slowly turned around to walk back into the village.

"I'm really gonna have my work cut out for me with this kid." Jiraiya thought as he looked to where Sasuke was standing and waiting for him.


	22. The Search for Tsunade

Sakura ran through the village. She had just overheard the news. Kakashi Sensei was in the hospital. No one knew who the attacker was though. The hospital was directly in front of her and she barreled through the front door. "I need to see Kakashi Hatake!" She shouted.

"Sakura!" Tenten shouted running up to the pinkette.

"Tenten!" Sakura said turning to look at her friend in confusion. She was breathing heavily, her chest heaved and her head started to lighten.

"Calm down." Tenten put her hands on her friend's shoulders. "You need to calm down. Panicking won't help anybody."

Sakura started to control her breathing. In the nose, and out the mouth. She looked back up at her friend. "Where is Kakashi Sensei?"

"He's this way." Tenten tilted her head back and started walking. "Gai Sensei wouldn't tell me who the attacker was, but he's pretty beat up."

"Someone was in the village?" Sakura asked.

"Pretty scary, I know." Tenten agreed. "Kurenai Sensei, and Asuma Sensei were there too, but they just have a few scratches."

The two genin came around a corner and saw a few of the doctors standing in front of a room. "I don't have any other ideas. His chakra seems to be locked away, we can only keep him alive but for so long." One of them crossed his arms and looked at the ground.

"There is the one procedure we can do." The woman doctor pushed her glasses up.

"That would be dangerous for everyone involved." The first doctor shook his head. "You know that Lady Tsunade was the only person with the skill and chakra reserves to pull something like that off."

Sakura went up to the door but one of the doctors lightly put his hand on her shoulder. "He needs to rest, he can't have any visitors right now."

"What happened to him?" Sakura asked as she pulled her hand away from the door.

"He was trapped in some kind of advanced genjutsu." The first doctor adjusted his glasses again. "Normally something like this would fix itself, but he doesn't seem to be waking up. We checked and he isn't under the jutsu anymore." He let out a breath. "Right now we're just going to have to wait and see what we can do, if there is anything that we can do that is.".

Sakura turned and started walking out of the hospital. "Sakura, where are you going?" Tenten asked as she followed.

XXXX

Jiraiya glanced over at the stoic Uchiha. Sasuke's eyes stayed glued to the road ahead of them. It had already been hours and they hadn't so much as said a word to one another. Jiraiya sighed and slumped his shoulders. "I'm getting hungry kid, how about you?"

"We should keep moving." Sasuke argued. "Right now you have an idea of where Tsunade is, but she could just start moving at anytime. After that, who knows where she could turn up?"

"I guess." Jiraiya scratched his nose. None of his other students were this stiff. Minato was shy, but he would generally go along with anyone who had an idea. Same went for Nagato, he was tough to get close to, but he wasn't sharp like Sasuke is. "So what do you like to do for fun Sasuke?"

"I spend most of my free time training." Sasuke replied dully.

"That's not what I asked." Jiraiya chuckled. "I asked what you find fun?"

"What's the difference?" Sasuke glanced up at the sage. This was the first time the boy had even looked at his superior since they left the village.

"Well training is important, but it's not exactly the kind of thing I consider fun." The man rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh, I know what you find fun." Sasuke replied as he kept walking and looked ahead at the road.

"Watch it kid. I need to spend plenty of time researching." Jiraiya replied sagely.

"For this smut?" Sasuke asked as he fished a small orange book out of his pocket.

"Oh, so you're a fan?" Jiraiya rubbed his chin and grinned at the boy.

"No." Sasuke shook his head. "This stuff is disgusting." He put the book back in his pocket. "I was just curious as to what Kakashi Sensei spent all of his time reading. Then when I met you, my opinion got even worse."

Jiraiya blanked at that comment. This kid is so rude to him, he wasn't used to that kind of treatment. "I'll have you know that my books are considered famous."

"Doesn't say much for your talent." Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "More says something about how perverted everyone else is."

"Harsh." Jiraiya put his hand over his chest. "So you're not interested in any of that stuff?" The old man rubbed his chin. "From what I hear you plan to eventually build your clan back up. You're gonna need someone else for that y'know?" He grinned at the boy whose face remained stern. "That little girl back in the village was pretty cute. She's your teammate right?"

"Yes." Sasuke nodded his head. "Sakura and I are on the same team, but there's nothing more."

Jiraiya's smile disappeared and was replaced by a worried look. "Kid, you know there's more to life than just vengeance."

"For some people." Sasuke replied. "Right now, that's what I'm focused on. Maybe after I kill Itachi I can find something else, but for now all I care about is seeing that man dead."

"You talk this openly about your brother with everyone?"

"You were the Third Hokage's spy master." Sasuke replied. "There's no point in hiding it. You know more about what has happened in that village than anyone alive."

"Well, not everything kid." Jiraiya shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his neck. "Didn't know we would be getting into the deep stuff kid." Sasuke's stare was strong. He was genuinely curious in what the sage was referring to, and he wasn't going to let it go any time soon. Jiraiya let out a breath. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt for you to know. I'm sure Kakashi told you about his teacher."

"The Fourth Hokage." Sasuke nodded his head.

"Well I'm the one who trained him." Jiraiya smiled as the memories of a younger Minato forced their way through his mind. "I guess that makes me your grand sensei!" He bellowed laughter.

Sasuke didn't crack a smile. "So were you there the night of the Nine Tails rampage?"

Jiraiya's laugh disappeared as quickly as it came. "No I wasn't." Jiraiya looked at the boy. "If I had been, Minato would still be alive, and so would the others."

"You mean his wife and child?" Sasuke asked.

"Kakashi sure does have a big mouth." Jiraiya said with a pained glee in his voice. "Yeah, they might've survived too."

"I wonder if the Fourth could've stopped Itachi." Sasuke mused as he looked up at the sun and covered his eyes. "You said something about stopping to eat?"

Jiraiya shook the intensity of the moment away. "Now you're speaking my language kid!" He clapped the Uchiha on the back. "There's a pretty good dumpling shop not too far away from here."

"Sounds good." The Uchiha nodded as the two continued on their long path.

XXXX

That night Sasuke and Jiraiya made it to a small village that was celebrating a festival. "Whoa." Sasuke said as he looked around.

"Yeah, some of the places out here really go all out for festivals." Jiraiya laughed.

"Any idea what it's for?" Sasuke asked as the two walked through the food vendors.

"No clue." Jiraiya smiled as they walked past a place that he knew. "Alright kid, as your superior on this mission, I feel it is my duty to train you."

"Alright." Sasuke said questioningly.

"First, I'm going to need you to hand over your money." The sage held his hand out. "One of the ninja prohibitions…"

"No." Sasuke cut the man off with a glare.

"What?" Jiraiya gasped in shock. "I am your superior."

"And what I do with my money is my business." Sasuke argued. "If you want to go in there and spend money on women, use your own money."

Jiraiya poked his fingers together trying to understand how the kid saw through him so quickly. "Hey, I know you!" A man shouted as they walked up to the duo of ninjas. "Some lady came through here a while back racked up some debt and said you'd take care of it."

"Oh boy." Jiraiya smiled as he looked at the men. "Gentleman, there must be something we can do."

"That was weeks ago." The man said as he pounded his fist into his palm. "I have to warn you, I used to be a Chunin for the Grass."

"A Chunin, wow." The old man smiled. "I've just got a genin travelling with me." He pointed over to Sasuke who was glaring at the man.

"So you understand how this works." The gangster replied. "Hand over the money or I'm gonna have to put a pounding on the both of you."

"Oh no." Jiraiya holds his hand out in front of him.

The man smirked before he is knocked backwards onto his ass. Jiraiya gawks and realizes that Sasuke's backpack was put on the ground, and the Uchiha was in mid air kicking the gangster. "A Chunin should've been able to block that." Sasuke says as he walks over to the man who is looking at the boy with fear in his eyes. "Tell us where we can find the lady who owes you money." He glared at him with his Sharingan.

"I, I don't know man. Look I was just hired to collect the money, you'd have to talk to my boss about the specifics." He held his shaking hands up.

Sasuke pushed the man back to the ground and walked back, putting his pack back on. "We find that guy, we might be able to find Tsunade." Sasuke looked up at the old sage.

"Listen, just tell us who your boss is, and you can go, no harm done." Jiraiya smiled at the downed gangster.

"His name is Akihiro!" He shouts as he stands back to his feet and looks around for a direction to run.

"Leave." Sasuke said causing the man to turn on his heel and spring the other direction. Sasuke let out a breath and looked at the old man. "Looks like we know where we're going pervert."

"Don't call me that." Jiraiya shouted at the boy who had already started walking away. The sage let out a sigh. "Kid's worse off than I thought."


End file.
